Harry Potter and the Cursed Bite
by KaptainKnuts
Summary: What if Harry was bitten by Professor Lupin at the close of POA. How would affect Harry's life and his quest to vanquish Voldemort? Goblet of Fire and beyond AU. On Temporary Hiatus.
1. The Night That Changed Everything

Harry Potter and the Cursed Bite

Chapter 1: The Night That Changed Everything

Buckbeak landed smoothly onto the grounds right outside of Hagrid's Hut. The Groundskeeper wasn't in his home, choosing to lament the disappearance of the hippogriff in Hogsmeade. The only presence that was outside the castle that night was that of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black and Buckbeak. The attempt to save Harry's godfather and the condemned hippogriff was a success and now all that remained was for Harry to say goodbye to only opportunity at a home and family.

"Thank you both. I'll be forever grateful for this." Sirius exclaimed moving towards Buckbeak in an attempt to leave.

"But Pettigrew got away, and with him your freedom." Argued Harry.

"One day we'll be a proper family Harry, I promise. Until then you'll have to stay where you are."

Sirius moved closer to Harry, pulling his godson into an embrace that conveyed every emotion he couldn't put to words. His sorrow for being absent from Harry's life, his grief for his best friends, and the hope that one day they could repair those feelings.

"Besides," he began pulling away slightly to speak directly to Harry," the ones who love us never truly leave us. They can always be found here." Placing his hand over Harry's heart. He briefly glanced at Hermione, before returning his gaze to the young man in front of him.

"Don't let that one go, she's something special." Sirius finally turned away and mounted the hippogriff, leaving Harry there blushing and babbling, chuckling at his godson's reaction.

"Until we meet again." called Sirius before ordering Buckbeak to take off and head off into the night.

Harry stood there for several moments staring at the receding shape of Sirius Black, lost in his own reflections, before being brought back to by Hermione.

"Harry, we need to head back to the hospital wing before Dumbledore locks us out."

Harry gazed at the sky once more, content that there had indeed been accomplished before nodding and beginning the walk back to the castle with his best friend.

"Do you think we'll ever have a normal year at Hogwarts?"

"No!" they both exclaimed at the same time and began laughing lightheartedly. They had only made it a few feet further towards the castle when the sound of twigs snapping behind caught their attention. Whirling around, the two teens were greeting by a glowing pair of eyes shining through the thick underbrush of the Forbidden Forest.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry called, hoping to somehow reach the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but to no avail. The werewolf before them simply crouched lower to the ground ready to strike before letting out a blood curing growl.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him towards the castle, hoping that they would be able to outrun the professor and make it to Dumbledore for him to help bring the man to his senses. They were cut off by the dark creature, blocking their only path to freedom. In a split second decision, Harry headed towards Hagrid's Hut and pulled Hermione inside, hoping that the small building would be able to hold.

The wolf mercilessly pounded against the walls and doors of the small hut making it abundantly clear that the structure wouldn't until dawn.

"Harry, what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure. Do you know any spells that will work against a werewolf?"

"A few but I don't think they're strong enough to have any effect on a werewolf."

His head sank, desperately trying to come up with a plan. He pondered their current predicament for a few moments before deciding on what he believed was the best course of action. Realizing that a lot was at stake with this plan, he looked over at his female best friend, who was staring at him questioningly.

Hermione saw that Harry was coming up with a plan for their escape and saw the briefly crestfallen look of her closest friend as he decided what the best course of action was. She wanted to ask what he was thinking but was pulled into a firm hug before the question even began to form on her lips. The intensity and the strength he held her with frightened her. What had he come up with that prompted this kind of response?

"Hermione?"

Hearing the fear in his voice she pulled away. Instead of seeing a look that matched the sound of his voice, she saw a look that was of determination, of bravery, reminding her of why Harry was so special to her.

"I have a plan to get us out of here Hermione."

"What is it Harry?"

"What I need you to do is run to the castle a get professor Dumbledore."

"How am I supposed to get to the castle with Professor Lupin outside?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of that."

With those last words, he gave Hermione a hesitant smile, before running to the backside of the hut and bursting through the other door.

"Hey! Over Hear!" he yelled attracting the beast's attention to him as he began to head off into the forest. Hermione busted out of the Cabin looking desperately as Harry managed to dodge a massive claw that came dangerously close to cutting arm.

"Harry No!"

"Run! Get Dumbledore! Hurry!"

Hermione had been rooted to the spot, unable to move because of the fear that over whelmed her body. Harry's last statement brought her back to her senses, so she began to run as fast as she could towards the school. She looked briefly, only to see Harry duck underneath the lunging werewolf before disappearing into the forest and out of sight.

She quickly sprinted into the castle, towards the hospital wing, hoping that Professor Dumbledore was somewhere nearby. As she rounded the final corner, she saw the elderly headmaster walking toward. Relief began to fill inside as she headed straight for the man. If anyone could help with this situation, it would be Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore! We need your help, please hurry." Hermione pleaded, gasping for breath after her long journey to get there.

"Ah, Miss Granger. I hope you and Mister Potter were successful with your mission tonight."

"Please sir, Professor Lupin has transformed. He's out on the grounds of the school!"

"I can assure you that the situation is being dealt with as we speak. We are making sure that poor Remus won't hurt anyone while he is still under his affliction."

Hermione was getting exasperated. She needed Dumbledore to understand that the situation was much worse than he thought.

"May I ask where Mister Potter is Miss Granger? I asked for both of you to arrive-"

"That's just it sir," began he distressed teen "Harry's out there with-", and that was the last thing she got out before a blood curling scream coming from the Forbidden Forest echoed throughout the grounds.

"AHHHHHHHHH"

"HARRY! NO!" Hermione's knees buckled underneath her when she heard the scream. It was most definitely Harry, and the fact that she had left him all alone with the rampaging wolf shook her to the very core.

Dumbledore immediately began to understand the severity of the situation the young women attempted to explain to him. "Where did you last see Harry?"

"He was running off into the forest. He distracted Professor Lupin so that I could run up here and get help."

As she said this, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape came into view, having heard the yell while they were patrolling the castle.

"Severus. Minerva. We must act quickly. Young mister Potter is being accosted by Lupin in the forest. We must hurry or I fear we may be too late."

At those words the last semblance of composure Hermione had left was gone. She had lean against a nearby wall in order to keep herself standing. It was all she could do to keep from passing out from the sense of dread that surrounded her. Even worse than that was the guilt. The guilt that she had left Harry to fend for himself. Gilt that while she was perfectly fine, while he was seemingly in mortal peril, nearly brought her to tears. She would've completely broken down right there if it hadn't been for a reassuring hand that grasped her shoulder.

"Do not blame yourself Miss Granger," came the voice of McGonagall behind her. "We will find Potter and bring him back safely. For now why don't you go inside the hospital wing and stay with mister Weasley." She somberly made her way through the door into the infirmary, where her other best friend would be waiting for her.

Inside she saw Ron, exactly where her and Harry had left him hours ago, or moments ago in the case of Ron. When he saw her enter he immediately cheered up. Seeing her back meant that they weren't dead or caught, which could only mean that Sirius was safe.

"Hermione! Thank god you're alright," he said with a bright smile. This cause Hermione to smile briefly at her and Harry's triumphant attempt to rescue Sirius. The smile would have persisted had she not remembered what had happened mere minutes ago.

"Harry", she whispered softly, allowing the sadness that had taken outside to begin to fill up inside her once again.

"Where is Harry, Hermione?" Ron almost hadn't noticed Harry's absence, figuring that his best mate was probably still talking to Dumbledore after completely his mission. It had been several minutes since Hermione had returned, and still Harry was nowhere to be seen. Ron started to begin up on Hermione somber nature and began to worry about his other best friend. "Hermione… What happened?"

She let out a long sigh, attempting to regain her composure. Ron needed to know what happened. He had a right to know and Hermione knew she had to be the one to tell him. She only hoped that he wouldn't hate her too much after what she did. Hermione recounted every aspect of their story, from freeing Buckbeak right from under the minister's nose, to Harry conjuring the Patronus that saved himself, her and Sirius, Sirius' final goodbye and escape, until finally she recounted the event of how Harry willingly led the werewolf away so Hermione could get help.

"It wasn't your fault Hermione." Ron knew that the events of that night were eating away at her. He couldn't stand to see her beat herself up over Harry's predicament. "We both know how he is. He would never live with himself if something happened to you, even if he gets hurt in the process."

Hermione wanted to thank Ron for him for not blaming her, but at that moment the infirmary doors burst open. Madam Pomfrey leading the way, followed closely by McGonagall and Dumbledore, with Snape following shortly behind them, levitating a stretcher which carried the body of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry!" cried Hermione, as his tremoring body was lowered onto one of the beds in the wing. She immediately got up from her spot next to Ron to see what had happened to him, not realizing how bad the situation really was.

The first thing she noticed was that the front of Harry's school robes had been slashed open, revealing four long and deep claw marks which ravaged his chest from his left shoulder down almost to his right hip. She was so close to him examining his injuries, that when Harry began convulsing, she jumped back in fright as tears streamed down her face. She couldn't imagine the amount of pain he was going through. He managed to grab ahold of her hand. Needing something to anchor him to the world around him.

"Her-mine-ne" he managed to struggle out, which brought her closer to him so that she could hear him.

"Harry, I'm right here. Everything is going to be fine, you're going to make it through this."

It seemed as though Harry hadn't heard her as he spoke again.

" … shoulder-", was all he managed to sill out before consciousness left him, finally allowing him some peace. Confused at this last statement, Hermione pulled back the tattered robe at his shoulder, only to cry out at what she saw.

She immediately through herself on a nearby bed sobbing uncontrollably at how unfair life was to her best friend. Seeing the exchange, Dumbledore maneuvered to see what caused the young women so much distress. What he saw greatly shocked and saddened the esteemed headmaster.

There, clearly visible on the boy's shoulder, amongst the pieces of tattered cloth and dried blood, was a bite mark.

 _ **Author's Note: Hey guys, so I hope that you found the first chapter of this story as satisfying to read as I was writing it. I hope to take this story from here all the way to the end of the fourth book, and then hopefully to the seventh book if everything goes well.**_


	2. An Uncertain Way Forward

Chapter 2: An Uncertain Way Forward

A few days had passed since word got out that Harry Potter had been attacked by some unknown dark creature. Though rumors circulated amongst the students, no one knew for certain what exactly had attacked the Boy-Who-Lived. Some said that he had tried to get too close to a Unicorn in the forest, others guessed that maybe it had been one of Professor Hagrid's projects he had for Care for Magical Creatures class. Some went even so bold as to say that Harry was attacked by one of the long rumored werewolves that were said to live in the forest, though many a student disregarded that statement as completely farfetched. No, the widely most accepted rumor was hat Harry was attacked by the Hippogriff Buckbeak. This was plausible as the Hippogriff in question was supposed to be executed for having previously attacking a student. Though many Slytherins were adamant in their belief that it had attacked the idiot while he attempted to set it free, but most others settled on Harry crossing paths with it during one of his famous passed-curfew adventures.

Despite all the commotion permeating throughout most of school, the hospital wing remained deathly quiet as the young man who was the center of all the commotion had yet to regain consciousness since his fateful encounter with the werewolf.

Madam Pomfrey had finally managed to convince the large crowd of red headed siblings and the bushy-haired girl, who had basically lived in the hospital wing since the night of the attack, to leave so that she could focus on monitoring the boy's condition. With classes over, there was nothing to keep the group of students out of her hair, but finally managed to convince them to either get something to eat in Great Hall or return to their Common Room, with the promise that if the situation changed, they would be informed immediately. Finally the hospital wing was shrouded with a peaceful silence once again.

Madam Pomfrey began performing diagnostic spells on the unconscious teen shortly after the room was vacated. His vital signs were normal except for an abnormally high heart rate, but she suspected that was due to his body trying desperately to combat the infection. Content that his condition was still stable, she moved towards her office to prepare the potions she had been giving the boy every few hours to help his body recover. When she finished, she returned to administer said potions but was greeted on her way back by a pair of emerald green eyes.

"Mr. Potter?"

She received no response. His eyes were fixed onto the white ceiling above his bed, as if focused on some minute detail, oblivious to the world around. After first double checking her diagnostic spells, finding no discernable difference in his condition, decided to summon Professor Dumbledore and inform him of these recent events.

The Headmaster strode into the hospital wing with strict countenance, moving directly to Harry's side, with wand in hand. Immediately he placed his hand over the boy's face and began to mutter various incantations so low that the nearby nurse couldn't hear what was being said. Before she could ask what the esteemed wizard was checking for, he stopped his musings, seemingly content that whatever he was checking for wasn't serious.

"Mr. Potter? Can you hear me?"

Harry's eyes remained ever fixed above, the only indication that his condition hadn't worsened was his continued breathing.

"Harry, I need a sign to know that you are alright."

Still he received no response.

Dumbledore turned his attention to the medi-witch. "How long has he been like this?"

"It started shortly before I contacted you Headmaster. I was making his potions when I saw that his eyes were open. I checked to see if his condition had worsened and called you immediately after."

Albus frowned, not knowing what caused his change but was startled that there was nothing they could do to change it. He was unfamiliar with the symptoms of a fresh werewolf bite, and desperately needed answers. Not knowing how much time they had, he pulled out his wand.

" _Expecto Patronum_ ". Immediately afterwards a silvery phoenix left his wand and hovered in front of him for a few minutes. "Remus, Harry's condition has changed. Your presence is needed in the Hospital Wing to help determine the cause of these events." The phoenix immediately flew out the doors and further into the castle to deliver its message. After watching it leave, Dumbledore turned his attention back to the young man who would possibly be forced to bear another great burden, and did the only thing he could do until Lupin arrived….wait.

After several agonizing minutes, the doors behind him burst open. Albus turned around but the figure he saw coming through was not Remus Lupin. Hermione Granger was striding forward as if on a mission looking desperately towards her best friend.

"What's happened? Is he alright?"

"I'm sorry Headmaster she saw your Patronus relay your message and insisted on coming with me," came a voice from just around the corner. Lupin walked into the hospital wing, out of breath from trying to keep up with the young lass in front him.

"It's alright Remus. I daresay that even I would probably be unable to stop Miss Granger from checking on her friend."

Hermione began to blush realizing that she very nearly have gotten in trouble, but these thoughts were quickly abolished as she stared into Harry's unmoving eyes. Lupin walked u beside her and stared inquisitively at the boy who was slowly growing to become something like a nephew to him.

"Now that is a little startling." The werewolf continued to study the patient, attempting to discover the reason behind his catatonic state.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" Hermione asked seeing the look of surprise the covered the Professor's face.

"No. I've never seen anything like this. Harry's current state is another anomaly added to his condition."

"What do you mean?"

"Most people who receive the bite only lose consciousness for a few hours, perhaps a day," Remus' face fell as he remembered that he is the reason for Harry's affliction. Despite the assurances from all those who knew that it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help the feeling the guilt that he had ruined the boy's life. Beyond that, he felt he betrayed James, Lily, and Sirius by not only failing to protect Harry, but being directly responsible for his current predicament. "The fact that he's been unconscious for three days is startling to say the least. Coupled with this," he motioned towards Harry, "I daresay that his situation isn't looking up."

Hermione's own guilt was beginning to well up inside her. She knew that Harry would always act to benefit to help others, even at the cost of his own safety, didn't the feeling that she could've done something to prevent this. She could've argued with him and stayed with him, or ran faster to get Dumbledore, or even thought of some way for her to stop the werewolf herself. All her time learning spells and pouring through books and she felt utterly helpless, unable to help her friend. Her eyes began to water at these thoughts so she redirected her thoughts back to the present.

"Oh Harry, I'm Sorry."

With a painful and sharp gasp, Harry bolted upright in his bed before succumbing to the pain of lingering injuries. Needless to say, this caught all those at his bedside off guard, causing all them to jump back. They watched in amazement as his eyes began to regain focus and began to regain himself and reenter consciousness.

He attempted to move again, but something on his right arm kept him from using it to help himself up. Looking down he saw that his arm was fastened into a sling that kept his arm and shoulder in place. He reached with his other arm to grab his glasses from his bedside table, before Hermione sprang forward and put them on for him. He smiled at her appreciatively before looking at everyone else who had gathered in the room.

"What happened to me? And why does my arm and chest hurt so much."

At that line of questions the room became somber. All those at Harry's bedside looked away from Harry, seemingly refusing to look at him. He noticed that the two who seemed the most crestfallen were Professor Lupin and Hermione. He wanted to question this observation but decided that he could wait to find out those answers. It was several moments before the thick silence was cut by the words of Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry… the night you rescued Sirius," he paused seemingly try to gather the right words to say, "you were attack and gravely injured in an attempt to save Miss Granger."

He immediately understood Hermione's react now. He reached for her hand, looking her in the eyes as he did. He squeezed her hand and gave her a sympathetic look, hoping to convey the message that it wasn't her fault. He received a smile that didn't quite reach the girl's eyes, but decided that he would push the issue later.

"What was it that attacked me?"

He was greeted by another pregnant silence. He didn't understand why they all seemed reluctant to tell him what attacked him. His eyes drifted to each person around him, hoping that his stare would force the truth out of them, before finally setting on his parent's best friend. Some of the memories of that fateful night began to flood into his mind, giving a sympathetic look towards the DADA Professor.

"Lupin…." Harry began, but he was quickly interrupted by the Professor.

"I'm sorry Harry, it was I who attacked you that night."

"It's okay Professor. Madam Pomfrey will fix me up and then everything will go back to normal."

He realized quickly that something was up when Hermione began to cry after that last statement. She immediately flung herself around him, leaving a confused Harry to awkwardly pat her on the back.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not seeing the reason for his best friend's sudden loss of composure.

Madam Pomfrey stepped towards the bed and with a broke voice stated, "I'm sorry Potter…but it…it isn't just slash marks."

It took a moment for her words o truly sink in to Harry. When he finally registered the meaning of her words, he pulled his gown off of his right shoulder and was immediately greeted by the sight of a black set of bite marks. In that moment, the time seemed to stop as Harry stared blankly off into a corner of the room, trying to come to grips with the fact that he wasn't exactly human any more. He looked back to Lupin with the greatest look of sorrow, sympathy, and fear.

"Moony…"

Professor Dumbledore stepped forward and coaxed Hermione from the boy's arms and motioned for Madam Pomfrey to follow him. "I suggest we give these two some time before we bother them again." And with that, the three of them left the infirmary leaving Professor and Student behind.

Neither one of them was willing to look the other in the eye. Remus out of guilt and Harry out of sympathy. Not a word was said between the two for several minutes.

"It wasn't your fault Moony. You didn't know what you were doing." Harry was trying to diffuse the tension in the room, but it seemed his statement only made it rise further.

'No Harry, it is my fault. I was foolish enough to not drink my potion. My carelessness is the reason for your suffering and for that I don't deserve any forgiveness." Remus still refused to look the young man in the eye. He felt the lowest he felt in his entire life, even worse than almost killing Serverus. He didn't deserve Harry's forgiveness, nor did he want it. He wanted to be punished for his lapse in judgement.

"You didn't know what you were doing Moony. I forgive you," but the words seemingly fell upon deaf ear as Remus continued to wallow in self-pity. "I don't blame you-"

"Well You Should," Lupin suddenly roared out, "I let you down Harry. I betrayed your parents by letting this terrible fate fall upon you. They trusted me and Sirius to look after if anything happened to them, and now I've damned you t a terrible fate."

Harry had never seen Lupin like this. He had always seen the man as someone who was constantly in control of himself, someone who could always see the light even when things seemed darkest. Now he was seeing a different side of his parent's best friend. He was seeing a tortured soul. A man who was forced to look in the mirror every day and see the evidence of the curse he was afflicted with.

Remus deemed to compose himself after that. Turning around to face the door, he turned his head back slightly, still refusing to look at Harry.

"Perhaps it is best if I just leave. My being a part of your life has brought nothing but pain and hardship on you for the rest of your life. Yes. It is best if I just leave." With those final words began his march towards the door.

Harry's anger began to flare up as Remus began to walk away from him. He couldn't believe the man's self-pity went that deep that he'd abandon the son of one of his greatest friends. His blood began to boil and after Remus had made a few steps forward, it finally broke free.

"You think that you've betrayed their trust because of this!" The tone and anger in his voice caught Lupin off guard causing him to whirl around and meet the angry teen's gaze. "You're abandoning your best friend's son at a time when he needs as much help as he can get." Harry eyes pierced daggers through Lupin who could only shrink slightly farther away as the tirade continued. "You think this bite is a betrayal of their trust? No. If you walk out that door, out of my life, instead of sticking with e and helping me through this, then you truly will be betraying not only their trust, but their memory!"

The old wolf gazed at the young man before him, who looked like a mirror image of his best friend in all but his eyes. It was in those eyes, that Lupin saw the truth in the boy's statement and finally began to relent from him former decision. He began walking back over to bed he was just standing by, and decided to sit on the end of it continuing to stare Harry in the eyes. After a few moments of silence, a small smile graced the older man's face.

"You know…I sometime forget that you are James' son in more ways than appearance. Your father took loyalty and abandonment very seriously and saw it as the ultimate betrayal." The sadness in his eyes returned but there was something slightly different about them. "I'm sorry for that Harry. I should've realized that you need me now more than ever to help cope with your _furry little problem_."

A smile grace both of their faces, evolving into a light laugh the earlier tension finally dissipated.

"I just figured you needed a little help to see that you sticking around would be better than letting me figure all this out on my own."

Harry was glad he managed to convince him not to leave. He needed someone who would understand what he was going through. Hermione would read every book she could about it and understand, but he needed someone who could connect to his experience on a more personal level. That sat in a comfortable silence for a few more moments before Harry asked the question he most desperately needed answered.

"What'll happen to me?"

"Well Harry, the answer to that question is difficult to say. Every case of lycanthropy is different. One person, such as myself, could become very thin, and sickly looking, while the next person could possibly become more fit. Certain feature of your appearance or personality could become more lupine. Some of your senses might become slightly more heighted or not at all. We won't know for certain until your first full moon. After that your body will begin to accept it's new condition and we can determine the extent of your changes."

"I'll be at the Dursley's at that time. Will I be able to take a Wolfsbane potion to keep people safe?"

"No, that won't be an option Harry. The Wolfsbane potion during one's first transformation could possibly alter it to the point that you either turn permanently or it could possibly kill you. We have to let your body be able to transform uninhibited in case you transform."

Harry nodded in understandably at his words, accepting that what he was being told was the truth. He was so busy contemplating the possibilities of these changes, that he almost missed Remus' last words.

Puzzled, Harry asked, "In case I transform. What does it mean if I don't transform?"

Realizing that he said something he shouldn't have, Remus bowed his head realizing that he would have to tell Harry about the grave possibilities if he didn't transform.

 _ **Author's note:**_

 _ **Boom! Cliffhanger! Sorry to end the chapter there but I felt that that particular revelation was suited better for another chapter. You can probably guess what the other possibility is but I'm not going to spoil it. I just wanted to point out a couple of things here before I forget about them**_

 _ **There will be one or two references in the coming chapters to the movies**_ _ **Van Helsing**_ _ **and**_ _ **Teen Wolf**_ _ **. In addition to this there will be a lot more than a few references to**_ _ **MTV's Teen Wolf**_ _ **as well. Not enough to call this a full on crossover but enough to make it fun.**_

 _ **Some people were wondering whether this fic will be Harry/Fleur or Harry/Hermione. I don't see this story as clearly one or the other but both relationships will have a lasting impact on the story.**_

 _ **This story will get progressively more AU as time goes on. I feel as though many of the events in the book work well with the added factor of Harry's condition and this story is more about how this one change begins to take it in a new direction.**_

 _ **As always thank for reading.**_


	3. Countdown to Judgment Day

Chapter 3: Countdown to Judgment Day

The End-of-the-Year Feast at Hogwarts was always a swirl of emotions for one Harry Potter. Part of it was the joy that he, Ron and Hermione had survived another year at Hogwarts. The fact that every year so far had involved a plot in some way which endangered their lives, meant that they were never sure they'd make it to see the close of another school year.

The event was also a somber one for him as well. It meant leaving the one place he truly called home, the one place where he felt he truly belonged and was instead placed in world contempt, loathing, and a constant reminder of everything his life lacked. It also meant that he would be leaving his two best friends, who were more like family to him than his relatives ever would. Leaving behind the excitement of Hogwarts for the simple and monotonous Dursley's always managed to be a downer on him this time every year.

This year the feeling was even worse. His arm was still in a sling due to the bite wound being unable to heal for another week or two. Being reminded of the coming lunar phase were starting to wear his nerves thin. The fact that Harry's future would be determined in just a few weeks' time when the full moon rises, had set him understandably on edge. It wasn't the possibility of turning into a dark creature that frightened Harry. What truly scared him was the idea that whatever the outcome of the full moon was, it could possibly mean that the life he envisioned himself in the wizarding would soon be over.

He looked across the table at his two best friends, wondering how he would be handling himself right now if it wasn't for them. Ron had taken it upon himself to act as if nothing was wrong, reasoning that Harry didn't want to be treated differently despite current circumstances. Hermione on the other hand, had been completely understanding and compassionate in the case of his condition and for that Harry was grateful. Harry simply stared at his female best friend deciding that he would tell her the full truth about his predicament, no matter how much it scared her.

Hermione noticed Harry's stare and met his eyes, chocolate brown meeting emerald green, and gave him a small reassuring smile. She had taken note of Harry's reflective mood as of late and made it her personal mission to help him in any way she could. Her musings brought her back to conversation she had with Professor Lupin.

 _-Flashback-_

" _But it wasn't your fault Professor. I can't believe you're being sacked over this."_

" _No Miss Granger, I wasn't sacked. I resigned." Hermione wanted to argue with him, the old wolf just raised a hand to silence her. "I'm lucky that people like you, Harry, and Dumbledore understand that. Whether students' parents or the ministry would be equally as understanding seems unlikely."_

" _But sir, who will help Harry. Even if he won't admit it, I can tell he is frightened over all his and he'll need someone to turn to."_

 _Remus smiled at the young witch. She reminded him of another young red haired witch who was as understanding and caring towards him as she seemed to be for Harry._

" _You're very correct Miss Granger. Harry will most definitely need someone to turn to now more than ever. I will be around to help as often as I can but I'm sure that won't be enough." He then looked Hermione directly in her eyes. "That will be a role you'll have to fulfill Hermione."_

 _To say that Hermione was shocked at this statement was an understatement. It wasn't that she hadn't planned on it being her job to help Harry, it was more so that someone else felt that she would have to do it._

 _Caught up in her initial confusion she immediately thought about her other friend. "What about Ron?"_

" _Yes. Though I don't' doubt that Mister Weasley's support will be needed, I feel that he won't be able to grasp all the changes Harry will be going through."_

" _I don't understand sir."_

" _Well Hermione, I believe that young Mister Weasley may have a hard time understanding that more things will be changing about your best friend than simply his transformations once a month." He paused considering his words carefully. He knew that at this current point in time, Harry had a lot on his mind. Just how much he told either of his best friends was completely up to him, and Remus didn't want to betray the young man's trust. "Though the changes may not be particularly noticeable, he may adopt some more wolfish characteristics."_

" _Wolfish characteristics? Like What?" This revelation had startled Hermione. She didn't want to lose her best friend to this affliction, she didn't want the boy who jumped onto a troll to save her gone._

" _The exact extent of his behavioral changes won't fully be revealed until after his first full moon, so we can't be sure until then. What Harry will need the most help with is dealing with his scars."_

 _Hermione's brows furrowed at this comment. She knew that the bite would heal completely after the initial transformation, and that the slash marks on his chest would always be present, but she read that there wouldn't be any complications from the wounds._

 _Seeing her confusion, Lupin continued. "Lycanthropy is not just an affliction of the body, but also of the mind and the soul. These new instincts and characteristics he will be forced to deal with may frighten him, but not as much as the impact it will have on his soul." Her eyes widened at these words. Poor Harry. The torment he's about endure was tearing her up inside. "What most people don't realize is that werewolves remember what happens when they transform. Those of us who turn are forced to relive those events as nightmares, making those dreams a form of torture our kind has endure, especially if…something happens."_

 _At these words, Hermione knew exactly what Remus meant. He was going through this himself. He was probably forced to relive the night he attacked Harry in his dreams and it only added to the guilt the man was feeling. Forgetting herself, she immediately flung her arms around her former professor._

 _After letting him go she finally caught on to something he had said during their conversation._

" _What did you mean by 'Those of us who turn' Professor?"_

 _Lupin realized he almost let that piece of information slip. He looked down at the floor in front of him, unable to meet the girl's intense stare. "It's not my place to tell you Miss Granger."_

 _-End Flashback-_

After that conversation, Hermione had begun to notice small changes that were beginning to take hold of Harry. The first and easily the most noticeable change was his more deathly appearance. His complexion had become increasingly paler and he appeared to be skinnier, which made his already malnourished body look even sicklier. These changes went mostly unnoticed due to many believing that it was due simply to the healing process of his injuries.

His arm which was still held tightly in place by its sling, had shown no signs of getting better. Initially Hermione had seen that Harry was no longer favoring that arm, so she began to hope that it was sign that he was getting better. It wasn't until the third day after he was allowed to leave the infirmary that she realized that Harry had simply began to ignore the constant pain he felt. His façade would only drop when another student would accidently bump into it or when he moved to quickly. His continued pain however, wasn't what worried her the most.

No the most startling thing was occasionally she would look over at Harry and notice something was different with his eyes. At first she thought it was just like his other physical differences until she figured out what was truly happening. His eyes would actually change would actually change shape and color turning into a more golden-yellow hue instead of his normal green. If she were honestly with herself, his eyes looked more lupine.

Once the feast was over, the students all went to gather their belongings and began the journey back to Hogsmeade Station to begin the journey back home. Harry and company were able to find an empty compartment, making themselves comfortable as the Hogwarts express was under way, leaving behind Hogwarts for the monotony of the muggle world.

If one were to peak in on the Golden Trio's compartment, they would see nothing but three teenagers engaging in normal behavior. Ron and Harry talked about Quidditch for most of the trip while Hermione curled herself up in the corner, deeply enthralled with the book she was reading. It wasn't until the train was nearly an hour away from King's Cross Station before the conversation turned much more serious.

"So what's going to Happen with your 'furry little problem' Harry?" Ron asked. Harry chuckled at the comment, appreciating his best mates attempt at making light of his situation. Despite the attempt, Harry still felt uneasy about the whole.

"Well Dumbledore says I can still return to school next year."

Hermione, having her attention averted from the book to the conversation at hand, dropped the book onto her seat and gave him a relieved smile.

"That's wonderful Harry. I couldn't help but worry that you wouldn't be able to join us come next year."

"Yeah according to Dumbledore, there weren't any incidences at Hogwarts when Moony was there so he saw no reason I shouldn't be allowed. Besides they have the Wolfsbane Potion now, which'll help me keep control."

"But, what are you gonna do while you're at the Dursley's?"

"Well according to Moony, I can't take the potion my first time, so he's going to collect me from the Dursley's before the moon rises so I can spend it at Hogwarts. After that I should be able to take it, so there won't be any issues."

"Well mate, once we find out if we're going, I'll talk to dad about getting you a few weeks before the Cup starts." Ron then shifted his attention over to his other friend. "Hermione? You'll be coming too right?"

If she were honest, she really didn't enjoy Quidditch all that much. The only reason she attended games at Hogwarts was to support Harry. Since he wouldn't be playing, she almost saw it as reason enough to not go. She quickly remembered however, that witches and wizards from all over Europe and the world would be there and she saw the experience as an invaluable learning opportunity. That possibility however, wasn't the real reason she was considering going. She knew that Harry would need all the help he could get after his first transformation, so she decided she would go, interestingly enough, to support Harry.

"Yes Ronald, I would like to go. The opportunity to meet people from around the world is something I simply cannot pass up."

"Awesome!" cried the excited Red-head. "I'll go tell George and Fred so that we can decide what the sleeping arrangements will be at the Burrow," and with that, Ron sped from the compartment leaving Harry and Hermione to themselves.

They sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes, both individuals enjoying the calmness around them, knowing full well that it would not last. Hermione returned to her book, while Harry seemed to be deep in thought. The Boy-Who-Lived was thinking a lot about the past year and how it could've gone much differently. He might've never found out about Sirius' innocence, about his father and his friends during their time at school, or the real reason the Snape really hates him. He regretted little about what happened over the year, especially not risking his life for his best friend sitting across from him. He did however have one regret…

"Hermione?"

She looked up from the passage she was reading to see what Harry wanted. What she saw in his eyes was a look of repentance. At first she began to wonder if he regretted risking himself for her that night, but immediately dashed those thoughts away. This was Harry, he would always put others' before himself.

"What is it Harry?"

"I realize that I never apologized for freaking out about the whole Firebolt thing."

"Harry," she said as she moved to sit next to him "There's no need to apologize. I shouldn't have gone to McGonagall behind your back."

"No Hermione. You were only doing what you thought was right by looking out for me. I knew you meant well but I still wanted to be angry with you. You don't deserve that. Nor do I deserve a friend that cares as much as you do."

Hermione felt tears begin to build up in her eyes as she quickly pulled Harry into one of her signature hugs. "Thank you Harry. That means a lot."

She pulled away from him, looking him dead in the face and noticed that his eyes had changed again. This time Harry noticed her gaze and looked at her questioningly.

"What?"

"Nothing." She said as her face began to redden. "I was just…looking at your eyes."

Harry closed his eyes and began to shake his head wildly, reminding Hermione quite humorously of a dog, before opening his eyes revealing their usual tint.

"Sorry about that. I know they change on occasion. I just have no control over it." Harry said deciding to stare off into the empty space in front of him. Hermione could tell by the expression on his face that he was conflicted on what he needed to say. Sighing heavily, he pressed on.

"Moony says that my eyes changing is a good sign. At least as good of a sign as turning into a monster once a month can be," he added with a slight chuckle, hoping to hide the meaning the meaning of his words.

"What do you mean that your changing is a good sign? What else could happen?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He had hoped to deflect the conversation from its current course, but now saw that it was at the point of no return.

"I'm surprised you haven't come across it in all the research you've been doing for me Hermione." He was chuckling nervously hoping to defuse his own nervousness over the reality that was his situation.

"Most of the text I've come across either discussed how to kill a werewolf or how to manage one's affliction. I haven't come across anything about other outcomes of a werewolf bite."

"I suspect that's because they don't want to scare those who've been bitten by telling them the whole truth," he mused realizing that it was time to tell her.

"Moony told me that the bite doesn't take every time. Actually, he said it usually only work about 30 percent of the time. If being bitten doesn't turn you…it kills you." He hung his head low ashamed of the worry and anxiety he had just forced Hermione to bear.

"Oh Harry, that's terrible." She immediately embraced him again, attempting to put all her comfort and support into the gesture. "Is that why you apologized for the Firebolt thing?"

"I'm not apologizing because there's a chance I might die. I wanted to apologize earlier but I didn't get the chance because Ron started on about losing his rat and I didn't have an opportunity since then. I couldn't live with myself knowing that I not get the chance to say I was sorry."

She looked at Harry with a new sense of admiration in her eyes "As I said before Harry, there was no need to apologize. I'm just happy you trusted me enough to tell me the truth about your situation."

Minutes later, the scarlet train arrived at its destination and the students began to file out. Harry said bye to Ron and Hermione before moving over to where his Uncle Vernon was standing, his first steps down an uncertain path. Hermione watched him go before turning to leave with her own family, but one thought still plagued her mind and would continue to do so until she saw Harry again

 _Please be safe._

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Whooo! One more chapter down. Don't worry we'll get to Harry's firs full moon in the next chapter. After that, the story should get a little more exciting as it goes on.**_

 _ **I did want to make one quick note here. I'm not going to cover every little thing that happens in the book, so if I don't include something that's in the books and it doesn't interfere with anything I'm writing, just assume that the event happens just as it does in the books.**_

 _ **As always thanks for reading-**_

 _ **KaptainKnuts**_


	4. The Howling

Chapter 4: The Howling

Harry awoke two weeks later, feeling no better than he had when he left the Hogwarts Express. If anything, he felt much worse without the overwhelming support from the Hogwarts staff and his friends. Instead, he was greeted each day of his holiday by the absolute loathing and contempt of his relatives.

He laid there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, not wanting to look at the calendar. He somehow hoped that the day he had been dreading for so long had not come, but knew in the back of his mind that his wish was unfounded. Sighing in defeat, he rolled onto his good arm, so he could get a clear view of the calendar hanging on the wall. Sure enough, the date on the calendar read July 31st, and underneath, in smaller print, were the words that filled him with dread.

Full Moon _._

' _What a great birthday present'_ he mused, seeing the irony that his birthday could also possibly be the date of his death. He threw the covers off of himself and rolled his weary body off of the bed. He almost fell straight down onto the floor because of his weakened condition, but his frame had managed to hold up from the impact.

Since returning to Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry began to notice many more drastic changes to his condition. The first sign of change was a dull ache which had progressively spread throughout his body and increased in severity with each passing day. It was merely an annoyance at first, but had grown to a near constant pain that wracked every nerve in his body. He also noticed that many of his senses would fluctuate. One minute he'd be fine, whereas the next, any strong smell threatened to make him vacate his most recent meal. Small noises would become deafening, while his vision would fluctuate making wearing his glasses nearly useless. His body also had difficulty regulating his temperature, causing him to go from hot to cold in almost an instant.

Less startling was the feeling of paranoia coupled with claustrophobia that had become normal to his psyche. Having spent most of his childhood in a cupboard, Harry was used to feeling claustrophobic, but this time the familiar feeling of the world closing in around him was not there. This sensation was somehow different than that, more internal. He felt as though his own skin was restricting him, irritating him to the point where he would sometime scratch his skin obsessively to try and relieve the feeling.

He quickly got dressed before moving over to the desk that sat near the open window in the room. Sitting at his desk he saw Hedwig sitting in her cage fast asleep, evidently resting after a night out hunting. He smiled affectionately at his avian friend and glanced next to her cage and saw that there were a number of letters sitting on his desk. Noticing only one package among them, he opened it first, confirming that it was from Hagrid, who had provided his usual gift of a birthday cake, along with his well wishes. He opened the next letter on the top of the pile and saw the familiar script of his godfather.

He had been worried about Sirius contacting him since he was still on the run, but Sirius' words of encouragement were very much needed. Harry had informed Sirius of his affliction shortly after the holiday had started, and since then, his godfather assured him that it was no one's fault, and continued to show unwavering support for his godson. The next letter he opened was from Ron

 _Happy Birthday Mate! I hope you're enjoying your summer, all things considered. Dad was able to get those tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, so you'll be able to leave the Dursley's in 2 weeks and stay with us. Sorry that I didn't include your gift with this letter, but since I'll be seeing you soon, I figured I'd save Errol the trouble and give to you in person._

 _Ron._

Harry smiled at his mate's letter, despite the conflicting emotions he felt while reading. He felt a little hurt that Ron hadn't gotten him anything, but quickly threw hat feeling aside, knowing that Ron didn't have much money and was just happy to be in his thoughts. He was ecstatic that he would be able to go to the Burrow in two weeks and be able to see the Weasley family, the closest thing he's had to an actual family. Definitely more so than the Dursleys.

He quickly picked up the last letter, which could only be from Hermione, and opened it.

 _Happy Birthday Harry! I wish that this was all there was to say. I hope that you make it out okay tonight Harry. I can't imagine what life at Hogwarts would be like without my best friend. I'm overreacting obviously, If anyone can make it out of this, it's you Harry. I wanted to send you your gift, but I feel like I should give to you in person. Don't worry we'll be seeing each other before you know it. Can't wait to see you at the Burrow in three weeks._

 _Hermione._

Scanning the letter a few more times before picking up Ron's letter and examining the two. He felt a tightness begin to spread throughout his chest. He knew that both of his friends most likely had good reasons for not sending him anything, but couldn't help but think that the reason they did it was in case he didn't make it. Ron didn't know this so he really couldn't blame him, but the fact that it could've crossed Hermione's mind hurt him deeply. With these last somber thoughts, Harry headed downstairs to deal with the Dursleys, anxious for when Lupin would come for him later.

 _-Later that Day-_

There was a knock on the door at the Dursley's, ushering in a possible new chapter to the life of Harry Potter. He quickly moved down the stairs, hoping to be the one to answer the door, only to be headed off by his Aunt Petunia. She opened the door, revealing Remus Lupin behind the door.

"Ahh Mrs. Dursley, how nice it is to see you," greeted the old wolf, with a smile that was obvious to Harry was forced.

Petunia narrowed her eyes, trying to place where she'd seen this man before. Judging by his attire she immediately knew that he wasn't 'normal'. Finally relented, turning towards the stairs to call for the freak, to find him already on the stairs.

"Good, you're already down here. He _obviously_ here for you, so why don't you go. The less time your freakishness is in this house the better," she added with a hint at indignation. Remus had hoped that the stories he heard about Harry's treatment at home were just that stories. He hoped that Petunia had outgrown for the magical world but again, it seemed he was mistaken. He motioned for Harry to come with him.

"Harry will only be gone for the night. I'll make sure to bring him back sometime tomorrow."

Suddenly the gruff voice of Vernon Dursley rang from the family room area. "Take him for as long as you like. The less food we have to give the freak the better. In fact why don't you just keep him?"

Remus had to control himself from lashing out against the bigots in front of him. Normally, such words had little effect on him, but he was feeling the effects of the coming moon and he already felt bad about Harry's condition. With another forced smile he motioned for Harry to follow him, and they promptly left Number 4.

"Sorry about my family Moony. I'd say that they're usually not that bad, but I don't feel like lying."

"You've nothing to be sorry for Harry. Why you need to stay in a place if such contempt I will never know." They walked for several minutes down the street until they were away from the prying eyes of the muggle neighborhood. Harry studied their surroundings looking for the method of travel they would take to get then school.

"Excuse my Prof-…I mean Remus. How exactly are we getting to Hogwarts?"

"Have you ever heard of Apparition Harry?"

"Yeah, Hermione mentioned it once. But I don't understand, I thought it was impossible o apparate in Hogwarts."

"Right you are Harry. That is why we're apparating to the castle gates, and then walking from there." He held out his arm for Harry to grab, and when he did he turned on the spot and they were gone.

The compressing sensation ended and the duo found themselves just outside the gates of the school grounds. Lupin stepped forward to open the gates as Harry lost control of himself and vomited into the bushes.

"I'm sorry about that Harry. I know that with your first full moon looming that your condition wasn't the best, but Apparating here was much easier than any other means of transportation."

"It's fine. Just give me a minute." Harry slowly righted himself and began to follow Remus down the path. "Where exactly will we be doing this?"

"We'll start off in the Shrieking shack. After that we should be able to roam the grounds freely since the students are on holiday. They approached the entrance to the shack at the base of the Whomping Willow, but Harry noticed that the tree seemed to already have been immobilized. Not pondering this any further as he could feel the irritation of his skin and senses becoming stronger, he pressed on through the tunnel. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the dilapidated structure, his sight was immediately overwhelmed by a flurry of bushy hair.

"Harry!" Hermione had rushed over to him, as soon as she saw that he had arrived and hugged him before he had the opportunity to study his surroundings. Harry peered over the top of her head and saw Sirius, Ron, and Dumbledore smiling at him

"What are you all doing here?"

Ron was first to speak up, "We knew that tonight would be hard on you mate, so we all came to support you. Also there's no way I was passing up seeing my best mate on his birthday," Ron concluded with a smile. He quickly held out a package that he had been carrying. Harry accepted the gift and immediately began to tear it open it. Inside he found a book entitled, " _How to Properly Train as a Seeker_ ". Harry's smile threatened to engulf his face and immediately gave Ron a one armed hug. "Figured we need you to be in top form if we want to keep the Quidditch Cup next year.

Professor Dumbledore stepped forward and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don not worry Harry, we've taken every precaution necessary to ensure everyone's safety tonight. Both Mister Weasley and Miss Granger are simply here to show their support. In a few more moments I will escort them back to the castle, where I will return them to their homes." Dumbledore then peered at the two gentlemen in front of him before continuing, "I've also requested that both Remus and Sirius accompany you tonight during your endeavor."

Harry beamed at his parent's best friends, delighted that he would not have to go through his ordeal tonight alone. Shifting his gave from Sirius to Lupin, a moment of doubt crossed his mind.

"You're not mad at Moony, are you Sirius?"

"No, Harry. I don't blame him. I spite of his insistence that it is all his fault, I know that he had no control of himself. I am glad though that someone was able to talk him out of leaving due to his own self-pity." Sirius grinned at his godson, proud that the young man was able to talk some sense into his best friend.

Harry turned and looked at the people who showed their unwavering support to him and felt almost at ease, accepting the situation he found himself in. He tried to formulate words to express his gratitude, but couldn't find any that fit except for a simple, "Thank you."

The headmaster then motioned for Ron and Hermione, and began to make his way back to the castle. Hermione however stayed put.

"I want another minute or two to talk with Harry headmaster."

"If you wish Miss Granger, but I must insist that you be quick."

She moved over to Harry, carrying an air of nervousness around her. Harry feel the guilt radiating off of her as got closer. She pulled out present of her own seemingly out of nowhere and thrusted it quickly into Harry's hands.

"I want to help you through this anyway I can. I know that nothing I do will come anywhere close to what you did for me." Harry ripped open the wrapping and saw that her present was a book. _'Typical Hermione'_ , he thought affectionately as he read the title of the book, ' _Dealing with Lycanthropy'._

"I thought…it would help if you knew what to expect if…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Harry covered the distance between them and wrapped his good arm around her in an embrace. It was several seconds before Hermione returned it.

"Thank you Hermione. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever gotten me." He pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Don't beat yourself up over what happened. You're here to help me through this, and this enough for me."

Her smile seemed to brighten the room. For the first time since the night that started all this, Hermione was truly able to move past her own guilt because of the bravery of the young man in front of her.

She slowly pulled away from the embrace and made to follow Ron and Dumbledore down the tunnel before a pained gasp and the sound of something hitting the floor stopped her. Turning around, she saw that Harry had fallen to his knees, eyes closed, clutching at his injured shoulder. His eyes flew open and Hermione saw the same golden yellow she had noticed weeks before, only this time much more vibrant. With another cry of pain, Harry's hands clenched up, as if they had been burned; all the eyes in the room saw as claws began to painfully push through his finger tips and his teeth began to lengthen into fangs. He looked up at the girl in front of him, and in a distorted voice, he uttered a single word.

"Run."

Sirius ran over in an attempt to push the girl down the tunnel, but Hermione remained rooted in the spot in fear. Moments later, another cry escaped Harry's lips as he quickly disposed of his shirt by ripping it away. This didn't provide nearly enough relief of the pain he was going through, and to the group's shock, he began to claw at his own skin, tearing it away to reveal patches of fur underneath. Glancing over to Lupin she saw that he was beginning to change as well, albeit less painfully.

"Hermione! Go! Now!" Sirius cried with one final push that sent her into the tunnel. With one last look behind her she saw that Harry managed to dispose of more of his skin as his face was being ripped apart by a long muzzle pushing through from his skull. With tears in her eyes, she dashed back to the entrance to meet up with Ron and Professor Dumbledore, unable to comprehend the pain that Harry was currently going through.

Harry was almost free of the constrictions that left him a prisoner in his own body. Several minutes later, he managed to completely dispose of his old form, rising on his hind legs along with a much older wolf and a large black dog. Embracing his new freedom, Harry let out his first howl as a werewolf as the last conscious human thought left his mind.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Finally! We got around to the transformation chapter. After this, the story will definitely be diving into stuff from the Goblet of Fire. I hope to get the story moving at a better pace in the next chapter or two as we deal with the Quidditch World Cup and Harry's second transformation. And yes, the title of this chapter is a reference to the film and novel of the same name.**_

 _ **If you want a sense for my inspiration for Harry's transformation, watch the scene in the movie "Van Helsing", where the character Velkan transforms by ripping his skin off. I thought it was a good metaphor for the changes that Harry will be going for as he's "Shedding his old body" in a way.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading.**_


	5. Shape Shifted

Chapter 5- Shape Shifted

Hermione stepped out of the Green flames into the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Never before had flooed so much in her life. A few minutes after her, another figure stepped out of the fireplace, the green flames slowly receding in his wake, returning to their normal orange glow. Without saying a word Remus Lupin walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, waiting for the headmaster to return to his office.

The girl began cleaning the soot off of her clothing before glancing around the room marveling at the various magical instrument that rested around her. Her eyes immediately fixated on Fawkes the phoenix and immediately began stroking the great bird's plumage. "Hey Fawkes." She cried happily as the bird turned its cheek and leaned into her touched.

"It's incredibly uncommon for a phoenix to take such a strong liking to a person in such a short amount of time."

Hermione whirled around and was met by the twinkly gaze of Albus Dumbledore. "I have only seen such a thing one other time. I believe you and I both know to whom I'm referring to Miss Granger," said the old wizard with his usual grandfatherly smile.

Hermione did indeed know who it was he was talking about, but thought that she was nothing compared to Harry. Nevertheless, she blushed at the praise all the same. Lupin stood up from his seat and approached the witch, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready for your final lesson?"

"Yes sir, I want to do everything I can to help Harry."

"I believe this goes without saying, but Harry is lucky to have someone as determined and thoughtful as you by his side. The fact that you were able to learn how to brew something as difficult as the Wolfsbane in a few short weeks is nothing short of unbelievable."

Before she could reply, the doors flew open to the office and Severus Snape entered the room, his robes billowing behind him. "Come along Miss Granger. I have more important things to do than cater to your personal instruction."

Lupin was the first to speak up. "Come now Severus, you know the importance of Miss Granger's instructions."

"Actually Lupin, I don't understand." He gave the werewolf a calculated stare, one that was matched by former Professor. Both men were now standing in front of each other, refusing to give an inch. "I fail to see the reason why a student needs to learn such a difficult potion when there is already someone at hand who has experience with it, or have you forgotten Lupin?"

Smile on Dumbledore's face briefly faltered. He quickly moved forward in an attempt to defuse the tension that was slowly building between the two adults. "Now Severus, current circumstances are much greater than just Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. Miss Granger's assistance is crucial to keeping all those around Harry safe."

Snape merely remained fixed in his spot, the evidence that he heard the headmaster was a simple nod before turning around and leaving the office. Realizing it was time to go, Hermione hurried along and followed the Potions Master down to the dungeons.

 _The Next Day_

Hermione woke up the next day, excitement radiating from her body despite how tired she was. After nearly six weeks of lessons with Professor Snape, she was now able to brew a perfect Wolfsbane potion, something that most Wizards never accomplish, let alone in such a short time period. Her determination to provide all the help and support for her best friend, was all the encouragement she needed. She knew how desperately Harry wished to be normal and she thought that it was the least she could do for him saving her life.

She quickly got dressed and carried her trunk downstairs into the living room to wait for the Weasleys to come get her. After several minutes passed, her parents Richard and Emma Granger joined her in the family room, and began their morning ritual of him reading the newspaper s his wife watched the television.

Silence settled on the muggle family for several minutes as the anticipation for the wizards' arrival. Understandably, both of the elder Grangers were nervous. What struck both of them as odd was that their daughter seemed to be more anxious than they were, if her constant fidgeting and glances towards the clock on the wall were any indication.

"Hermione dear, is something troubling you?"

The daughter looked to her mother and her heart immediately sank at the concerned look in her mother's eyes. An emotion flooded her mind, on that she was used to feeling at home ever since she started at Hogwarts.

Guilt.

She felt guilty for leaving her parents for the rest of the summer holiday, even if it was only for a little over two weeks. She knew her parents missed her while she was at school even though she wrote them quite often. Being able to see their only child for two months out of the year took an emotional toll on her parents. It wasn't until this summer that Hermione finally saw a glimpse of how much her departures affected them.

One night earlier in the summer, when her parents thought she'd retired for the night, she heard them discuss their fears that they were losing her to the magical world. The youngest Granger immediately felt guilty that her parents thought they were losing her and tried her best to remedy the situation. Her guilt did not stop there however.

Her parents had remained unaware of her adventures at school. After her first year she initially wanted to tell them everything, but her father had made it clear that he would pull her from the magical school the second there was trouble. She knew from then on that they couldn't find out. She had found a place where she felt like she belonged, a place where she had finally found friends.

"Well…" she began. To be honest she didn't want to lie to her parents but she didn't want them to know everything either. "It's Harry. He…got hurt towards the end of the last school year, and I just hope he's okay."

Emma moved to stand next to her daughter, and placed a helpful hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry sweetie, if something had happened, surely someone would've told you."

Hermione smiled at her reassuring words, her nerves beginning to settle. Instead of the incessant pacing that she had been doing previously spent the morning doing, she sat down in a chair and awaited the arrival of the Weasleys.

After waiting another 10 minutes, the fireplace suddenly erupted with green flames causing Hermione's parents to jump from the chairs they were sitting in. The next thing they knew, an older gentlemen with red-hair strode out of the fireplace wearing what they immediately recognized as robes.

"Sorry for being late," said Arthur Weasley. He quickly crossed the room and shook the older Granger's hands. "There was a commotion on our end and we couldn't leave until it was settled. Best wait a moment Hermione, Ginny should be right behind."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, the hearth erupted once again, and Ginny Weasley entered the Granger house.

She immediately ran forward shouting, "Hermione!", as she quickly embraced her friend. "Thank god you're finally coming over. I've been going crazy with all the boys at the house."

"I can't wait either Gin. This is going to be a wonderful experience." She then leaned her head forward and asked in a whisper, How's Harry?"

"You'll have to wait and find out." Hermione couldn't help but notice the grin on Ginny's face as she said this. Needless to say, Hermione wasn't happy with that answer. She had been worried about Harry ever since the full moon, and the lack of letters she had gotten from him only set her further on edge. She tried her best to remain calm, but the horrific scene that she saw as she left him that night had haunted her since then.

"Well we best be off, the boys are getting hungry, and Molly wanted to wait until you arrived to make supper."

Hermione ran over to her parents, giving them the biggest hug she could muster, wishing them goodbye before stepping into the fireplace to travel to the Burrow.

Upon arrival, Hermione was immediately scooped into a bone-crushing hug by Mrs. Weasley. "Hermione dear, it's good to see you." She looked at the older woman and couldn't help but smile at the woman's overly- mother like ways. "I hope you weren't waiting too long, we had a change of plans right before you went."

"What for?"

Mrs. Weasley crossed her arms in front of her and the smile on face disappeared. "Well…Fred and George thought it would be funny, to trick Harry's cousin into eating one of their joke products when we went to get him last week. They wanted to tag along today to get you but I told them they would do no such thing."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at this. Yes, she did normally despise the jokes that the twins played and would normally yell at them for being so immature, but this time she couldn't help herself. She'd heard about Harry's home life and thought that they deserved it for his treatment. Molly picked up on her train of thought and immediately attempted to dissuade her of it.

"Now Hermione. Just because they're not the nicest of people, doesn't mean he deserved to be undermined like that." The younger girl only nodded, wanting to appease the Weasley matriarch than get into a heated discussion. Content that she got through to the girl, Mrs. Weasley turned towards the door leading out to the garden and yelled, "Hurry up boys! Dinner's almost ready."

As if called by a summoning charm, four mops of red hair came bursting through the doorway, dashing towards the kitchen table in hopes to get their meal as quickly as possible. Hermione could only smile at the antics of the Weasley children, she was brought out of her musing by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, but found herself stunned at the sight in front of her.

"Harry?"

When she first laid eyes on him, her mind instantly replayed the last time she saw him on the full moon. She shivered briefly at the flash of memory, but immediately shook it off to take in her friend's change of appearance.

There was no doubt that the person in front of her was Harry Potter, but he had changed significantly in two short weeks. The first thing she noticed was that his hair was longer, by a few inches but it now came down over his ears and eyes. She also noticed that he had gotten bigger since she saw him last. He'd acquired a more muscular figure, not overly big but a slim-built figure that was a stark contrast to his previous sickly thin appearance.

She tried to her finger on what else had changed, before she realized that she now had to look up to see his eyes. It appeared he had also grown several inches taller as well. The most startling change however was his eyes. Yes, they were the same emerald green as ever, but they seemed brighter, much more intense, mesmerizing her.

After realizing she had been staring in shock for several moments, she began to blush at her awkward actions before stepping towards him, wrapping him in a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," was all she could whisper softly, her fears at losing her best friend finally passing.

"Thank you," he whispered back, continuing to hold onto her. This went on for a few more moments before Hermione noticed that Harry had started to stare at her as well.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…you smell nice."

Surprised, she could only repeat her previous question, which Harry immediately placated by saying he would tell her later. The pair entered the kitchen and sat down at the table across from each other. Conversation broke out along the table with Ron, the twins, Harry, and Ginny discussing Quidditch, while Hermione asked Arthur about his job at the ministry.

Mrs. Weasley entered the kitchen, with food in hand, set the meal down on the table so that everyone could dig in. "There we go dears, dinner for nine."

"Actually 11."

Everyone turned to look at Harry, confusion plastering all their faces. Mrs. Weasley immediately began to recount but before she got the chance to, two more people entered the kitchen.

"Charlie! Bill!" Mrs. Wealsey immediately smothered the two individuals, who were revealed to be the two oldest of the Weasley children, before ushering them to the table. "What're you two doing here? I though you wouldn't be here until the day before the cup."

The elder one spoke up first, "Well mum, I got off work early and Charlie had decided to take time off before…you know what happens this year, so we thought we'd come home and surprise you." Greeting were exchanged between the Harry, Hermione, and the new arrivals before the family decided to dig in for dinner.

After the meal was finished, all the Weasley children, save Percy, made their way outside to have a friendly Quidditch game. The twins began hitting a Quaffle back and forth with their beater's bats getting ready for the game to begin. Hermione however, pulled Harry aside, dragging Ron along as well, so that she could get some answers for Harry's strange behavior.

"Okay Harry. What was that about you saying I smelled nice, how'd you know Bill and Charlie were coming, and why do you look so different?"

"Okay, Okay. I'll explain," Harry said, raising his hands in defense, at the volley of questions that were sent his way. "About my looks, Remus says that it's because of the transformation, my body changed to adapt to my condition. He said it was kind of like shedding my old skin." Hermione shivered as the memory of that night resurfaced in her head again. He saw this and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey it'll be okay. Moony also said I wouldn't have to go through that again, and that it should be less painful next time."

Hermione gave him a small smile back, a warm feeling entering her chest at his attempt to comfort her. The feeling though, was short lived as Ron was quick to interrupt.

"Do you remember anything from that night?"

"No I remember talking to Hermione. After that I remember an intense pain and then nothing until I woke up in the hospital wing norming."

"Okay, but what was that about how I smell?"

Harry began to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. He had hoped that Ron's line of questioning would've diverted the conversation from hear. "Well, Moony said that my senses would improve a little before my next transformation. Right now, it seems that it's just my sense of smell has gotten better. It's all new for me so when I saw you earlier, it just kind of slipped out." He started to blush and looked down at his feet, embarrassed that he didn't have a handle on his new attributes.

The moment was disrupted by an "Oi! Look out!" coming from the direction of the twins. Hermione turned to see a rogue Quaffle streaking towards her head. Before she could react and turn away, she saw a hand reach out and pluck the ball from inches in front of her face. Gasping in surprise, she looked over at Harry, who had the Quaffle in his hand with an amazed expression.

"Nice catch Harry. Ya wouldn't mind playing keeper for us would ya since we don't have a snitch." Harry's face now sported a devilish grin before replying, "Sounds like fun." He then turned to Ron and Hermione, the grin still on his face, before running over with Ron to join the game.

Hermione sat down at a nearby table and opened a book as Harry took his place in front of the makeshift hoop. She simply could not understand why everyone was so obsessed over Quidditch. She thought the game was barbaric, the only reason she went to any of the games was to show school spirit, but mostly to support Harry.

She began to read as the game began barely paying attention to what was going on above her it was Ron, Fred, and Charlie versus Harry, George, and Ginny. The game went on for several minutes before the resident bookworm even glanced at the action above. When she did she saw a sight that startled her. For a brief moment, Harry's eyes flashed that familiar gold color before reverting to their previous state. She chalked it up to her imagination as she had gotten used to seeing his eyes do that since the end of the school year but her attention didn't falter.

She watched as Fred flew forward with the Quaffle and threw it towards the goal, only to be stopped by Harry. It didn't even seem to be a challenge to him. He quickly lobbed the ball to Ginny, ignoring Hermione questioning glare.

When the next shot game in Harry was above the goal seemingly unprepared. In one swift motion, he rolled his broom over, caught the ball, before hurling it away quickly with a surprised look on his face. This went on for the rest of the game as no one was able to make any shots past Harry.

"Blimey Harry, maybe we should try you out for Keeper, with Wood gone and all," called George from the other side of the field.

"Yeah maybe, but I like being Seeker too much," Harry called back, not noticing the slight glare coming from Ron.

Hermione watching this whole display decided that she wanted to get to the bottom of it, and immediately went into the house to grab the book she was looking for. She skimmed through her book on werewolves, unable to find any relevant information on Harry's recent abilities and finally relenting that she should probably get a good night's sleep. She had a whole week to figure this issue out, but one thought came to the surface before she drifted away into slumber.

Nothing was ever simple when it came to Harry Potter

 _ **Authors Note:**_

 _ **Next chapter is the Quidditch World Cup and with it the story should pick up a bit and the plot should thicken. With it we'll get to see how Harry's affliction effects the events of "**_ _ **The Goblet of Fire**_ _ **" and hopefully within the next 2 or 3 chapter we'll get to introduce Fleur and Head back to Hogwarts**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading**_


	6. Something's Amiss

Chapter 6- Something Amiss

Harry bolted upright in his bed, sweat covering his upper body after having experienced a rather intense nightmare. He glanced over towards the bed to his right to see that his thrashing thankfully hadn't woken Ron up, releasing a breathe he hadn't realized he was holding. He didn't want to trouble his friend with something as trivial as a night terror.

Looking to the other direction, towards the clock on his bedside table, he saw that it read 4:37, and resigned to the fact that it was useless to try and go back to sleep. Instead he laid back down on the mattress if his bed and tried to clear his mind in, hoping to somehow find relief from the prickling sensation that was coming from the scar on his forehead. His scar hadn't hurt him in a long time, and the fact that it had started up again during and after his nightmare startled him.

Hs dream had started out the same as his dreams did on most nights since his first full moon. He found himself bounding across the grounds of Hogwarts, another wolf and a large black dog in tow, and simply relived his roaming of the grounds and the Forbidden Forest from that night. This recurring dream served as the only indication that that night had ever happened, being that he couldn't actually remember what transpired after he turned into a wolf. He noticed that he was starting to anticipate this dream, reveling in the feeling of absolute freedom that it gave him. At the end of it he was heading back down the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, entered the house, but that's when he noticed something wasn't right.

The room he was in looked nothing like the Shrieking Shack. Confused he looked down only to find that he was no longer a werewolf. Actually, it seemed as though he wasn't even himself. As if he wasn't in control of his own body, he began to make his way up the stairs of this house towards a room he somehow knew was the house's main chambers. Once outside the room he saw a short, fat man who he swore resembled some kind of rodent, talking to another individual about a plan. The next thing he knew, he was spotted and the chair was spun around to reveal a small infant like creature, pointing some kind of stick towards him. A flash of green light brought the end of the dream.

Harry continued his musings for several, trying to decipher the meaning behind this strange dream. The visions that usually accompanied his dreams were never like this. He always felt safe in the knowledge that the events of his transformation had already come to pass, but the abrupt change in his dream somehow felt as if it was just happening. He recognized the individuals in his dream as Wormtail and Voldemort, but he couldn't remember what they were talking about. All he remembered was that they were planning something involving him, but he couldn't remember the details for the life of him.

The door to Ron's room burst open to reveal and already dressed and ready to go Hermione Granger.

"Harry! Ron! Wake up!"

The sudden outburst broke Harry's train of thought and caused him to fall off of the bed with a resounding thud. He picked himself up to address his two best friends, only to find the amusing sight of a disgruntled Hermione glaring at a still deep asleep Ron. Noticing that Harry was up, Hermione moved to sit next to him on his bed.

"Oh, Good Morning Harry. I didn't realize you were already awake."

"If I wasn't before, I am now." He glanced at his other best friend and couldn't help but chuckle at his still sleeping form. "What are you ding up so early?"

"What do you mean early? It's nearly seven."

He glanced out the window for the first time that morning and noticed that the sun had already began to stretch above the horizon. Had he really been pondering his dream for that long? He briefly considered telling Hermione about his dream, hoping she could give some insight to it. Upon giving it further thought, he decided that maybe it was just another side effect of his transformation and thought it best to not bother her with it. She already was doing so much for him.

"So Miss Granger, have you found what you were looking for in your books?"

"Oh that's nothing Harry. I was just curious about something and was checking on it once or twice."

"Once or twice? For a few days there it seemed you only stopped reading it when you needed to eat, sleep, or when you were working on brewing the potion for me."

Hermione had been working diligently on brewing the Wolfsbane potion for Harry's next transformation. She took the responsibility because she felt that someone close to Harry needed to be the one to make it. The fact that she would take up such a difficult task for him, made Harry realize just how lucky he was to have her as his best friend.

"You need to give yourself some time to rest Hermione. I don't want you running yourself spare like you did all last year."

"I'm alright Harry," she tried to give the appearance that she was alright, but the bags underneath her eyes ruined the illusion, and she knew that Harry could see right through her. "Besides, since I dropped out of Divination and Muggle Studies, my schedule looks a lot more manageable."

"Hermione Granger dropping not one but two classes. What has being my friend done to you?"

Hermione feigned anger and smacked him on the shoulder, but couldn't repress the smile that was stretching across her face. She exited the room for a moment or two before returning with a goblet of this strange violet potion, it took Harry only a few moments to realize what it was. He grabbed the goblet and raised it to his lips, and nearly spat it back out because of the awful taste.

"Ehhhh! This tastes worse than Madam Pomfrey's Skele-Grow!"

"Harry you have to drink it. You're supposed to drink it the whole week before the full moon in order for you to control your transformation. Since the World Cup's today and we don't want to raise suspicion, you have to drink it now." She gave him a sympathetic look before adding, "Lupin did say that you get used to the taste after a while."

"Still doesn't help the taste." He grimaced at the thought before downing the goblet in a matter of seconds. He immediately began to sputter, but repressed the need to vomit so he wouldn't have to endure another goblet full.

Hermione gave a smile before moving towards the door to wake up the rest of the Weasley's. She stopped at the door and looked back into the room. "You'd better get ready. I expected we'll be leaving shortly." With that, she strode in the direction of the other bedrooms. Harry gathered himself, and prepared for what he hoped was an exciting day.

 _A Few Hours Later_

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys were making their way towards their seats at the top of the stadium. With the family in front of them, Harry and Hermione tried their best to keep up with the excited Weasley clan, but soon lost them in the see of thousands.

"Oh no! How're we supposed to find them Harry?" Harry looked at her and saw the anxiety that covered her face, resting a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

"Let me try something." He turned his nose upward and sniffed the air. Hermione watched as he smelled the air for several seconds before gazing at her. Meeting his stare she saw the now familiar brief flash of yellow before he grabbed ahold of her hand. "Come on. I think they're this way."

They moved through the crowd and towards the stairs before Harry stopped to smell the air again. The look on his face, Hermione thought, was one of complete concentration. It was as if he was tracking them like an actual wolf. She hadn't realized that she wasn't watching where they were going when all of a sudden, they had bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry about that. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." Harry looked up and was floored by what he saw. In front of him was easily the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had long flowing silver hair and perfect skin. The word that he felt described her best was perfection. What caught his attention the most were her deep blue eyes that seemed to entrance him.

"Eet is alright monsieur. Eet is as much my fault that we, how do you say, bump into each ozzer."

"We're looking for our friends. We're supposed to be somewhere near the top of the stadium."

"Oh! _Ma famille_ and I are also at the top. I'll go wiz you and 'elp you find zem."

"Sounds great." And before Hermione could get a word in otherwise, the three were making their way towards the top.

Once they found the rest of the Weasleys, they parted ways with the mysterious French girl, who sat down a few seats away with a middle aged couple and a girl who looked no older than ten. When they finally found their seats next to each other, Harry sensed Hermione's apprehension and attempted to comfort her.

"Hey sorry about that earlier. I'm not that good at..." he hesitated slightly, trying to gather the correct words to use, "all this yet and I didn't know what else to do." She smiled at her best friend's awkwardness. She wasn't anxious about him asking some random girl's help tracking down there group. Though she admits to being slightly annoyed by it, it wasn't the reason she was nervous.

"No Harry, I'm not mad about that. It's just…" she looked out over the railings and shuddered. Harry immediately picked up on it and chided himself for not seeing it sooner. He'd completely forgotten about Hermione's aversion to heights. He put an arm around her in hope to put her at ease.

Before the teams came out on the field, the mascots came out onto the field, led by the Bulgarian team's mascots. What he saw on the field were a hundred of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. If their appearance was something, the scent that he caught when they came out puzzled him. It smelled familiar and oddly enough…inhuman,

Harry looked to his left to gauge the reactions of those around him and saw that most of the males around him, with the exception of Mr. Weasley, were acting strange. They all seemed to be trapped by some kind of enchantment. He continued gazing around until his eyes rested on the witch he and Hermione had met earlier, and saw that her and her family were seemingly put off by the actions of the women on the field.

Hermione recognized the being on the field as Veela, and began to observe those around her. She wasn't exactly thrilled by the state that she saw most of the Weasley men in but at the same time couldn't say she was surprised. Turning to study Harry, a wave if pride crashed over her as he seemed confused at why the men were all acting strangely. His gaze moved from his right back down to field, in an inquisitive manner instead of an entrapped one. Curiosity overcame her and she looked over in the direction of where his attention was previously. There she saw the French witch from before and her family. At first she saw the same sight as Harry. Soon afterwards, her and the older witch's attention settled on Harry and she saw looks of admiration and disbelief on their faces. She wanted to try and figure out more before the beginning of the match stole her attention.

 _After the Match_

Inside the magically enlarged tent, celebration for the Irish victory of Bulgaria was in full swing. Harry, Ginny, and he twins were giving Ron a hard time over his obsession with Viktor Krum, while Hermione attempted in vain to continue her studies and complete her summer work. The fun had been going on for nearly an hour before the sound of an explosion coming from outside.

"The Irish sound like they're celebrating," one of the twins said.

"Quiet" yelled Mr. Weasley as he entered the tent. "That's not the Irish. Every get dressed. Now!"

Thy all quickly got dressed before being confronted by a startling sight outside. There were men wearing skeletal masks marching through the crowds and tents, levitating muggles along the way.

"Everyone, head for the portkey!" yelled Mr. Weasley before disappearing into the crowd to help stop the masked men. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stuck together as best they could, making their way towards the hilltop where they had arrived at.

As they made their way towards the exit point, the crowd of people all try to push past each other became increasingly thicker as time went on. Before he realized what was happening, Harry was slowly being separated from Ron and Hermione. Fear getting separated and unable to find his way back to the portkey, he tried calling out to his friends, hoping to get their attention before it was too late

"Harry!" She tried to follow him, but was thwarted by the panicking crowd and was forced to continue in the direction she was going.

"Hermione" he returned, attempting to push through the crowd but his attempts were proven useless. A sudden shove from behind him caused him to lose his balance and caused him to stumble away from and into the dense forest that bordered the Quidditch stadium. Deciding that it was futile to try and make it through the crowd, he decided to cut through the forest, remembering that the transportation point also bordered the woods. He ran through the trees for several minutes, dodging branches and tree trunks along the way, until he spied a light a little ways forward. Hoping it was an exit, he continued his brisk place there, only to be confronted by four masked men.

"Well look what we have hear boys," began the one nearest him. "The Boy-Who-Lived. All alone and just waiting for us to gain a little revenge." The other three men began to laugh maniacally at him and Harry's only instinct was to turn and run as fast as he could.

Before he got too far, he heard a cry of " _Crucio!_ " from behind him. Feeling the spell hit him, Harry collapsed to the ground, feeling what could only be described as the greatest pain he'd ever felt. The men found his thrashing on the ground painfully amusing, laughing hysterically at the torment that Harry was going through.

After seemed like an eternity late, the spell was broken, and Harry from fell limp to the ground. The men began to leave, content with the destruction they had wreaked on behalf of their former master, but were stopped by a sudden growling noise from behind them. They turned to see the boy miraculously standing, but it was several other features that startled them.

His eyes were now, glowing and his nails had elongated into claws. The look on his face lacked humanity, even looking primal and animalistic in nature. They couldn't ponder this any further as he lunged at them, now baring claws and fangs.

They quickly shot spell after spell at him, but the boy, if he even could even be referred to as such, dodged them all, before pouncing on the first Death Eater, pushing him into a nearby tree and knocking him out. His attention turned to the next man, who had approached in order to get a better shot at Harry, but was similarly dealt with, a claw to the chest before being lifted easily into the air and tossed to the ground.

Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, a third man attempted to punch the boy, giving up on ever hitting him with his wand. The blow was easily dodge and he was soon dealt with like his comrades. A cutting curse caused Harry to roar out in pain, turning his murderous gaze to his final attacker. Overcome with rage, he charge forward towards him unaware of the man's still raised wand, before a flash of red light struck him, leaving him unconscious.

Hermione was pacing back and forth impatiently at the Burrow. She hated herself for leaving Harry behind at the World Cup, but put her guilt aside until she was sure what had happened him. She was near hysterics when the door to the kitchen opened and Harry and Mr. Weasley entered the house. She ran forward and pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug.

"Harry thank goodness you're alright. I'm sorry for leaving you behind but I couldn't make my way back to where you were heading."

"Don't worry Hermione I'm fine. I just got separated and ran into a little trouble is all"

"Did anything else happen?" She was hoping that Harry had some answers, but the look on her face told her otherwise.

"No not that I could think of." He then began to recount the events as best as he could remember them. He couldn't remember much after they were separated, just that he came across four hooded men and a blinding red light before he was awoken by an equally blinding green light. Looking up he saw what he later learned was the Dark Mark floating in the sky. He also confided in her that when he was awoken, his nails were elongated like claws, which he thought wasn't possible.

Hermione was then furious as he recounted how a group of Aurors tried to blame conjuring the mark of Harry before his wan was found of be in the possession of a house-elf.

"That poor elf. No none deserves to be treated that way!" She was angrier than ever at Mr. Crouch but her thoughts were interrupted by Harry.

"There was something else about that I didn't tell anyone." She nodded at him prompting him to continue on with his story. "While shortly before the Aurors showed up, I caught two scents around me. One of them was Winky, but I never found out about the other one." He paused briefly as if confused by his own sense, closing his eyes hoping to discover the answers for himself. "When the Aurors showed up, the smell was still there, even after they left so it wasn't any of them. I'm just confused."

"I don't know Harry. Maybe it's best if we both head to bed. Today has been a long day." They both went upstairs where they both eventually fell into a much needed sleep.

 _ **Author's Note: 9/4/15**_

 _ **As some of you may have noticed, I removed the part of this chapter involving Harry rescuing Fleur and her sister. After continuing the story, that part of the pot didn't work with where I wanted the story to go so I decided to alter it.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading**_


	7. Unexpected Complications

Chapter 7- Unexpected Complications

The next few days went without incident as the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup began to settle. The reemergence of the Death Eaters had Magical Britain the most frightened it had been since the fall of the Dark Lord thirteen years ago. They terrorized all those in attendance, wizards and muggles alike, and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. The Ministry was seemingly unable to find any evidence in who the men were or even who conjured the Dark Mark. After almost of week of worry, most people let the events at the Cup drift towards the back of their minds.

The Burrow had found itself in a similar situation, courtesy of one Molly Weasley. The Weasley matriarch fussed over Harry for the first couple of days after he made it back to the house, insisting that he take it easy despite there being nothing wrong with him. Eventually, it evolved to her becoming even more overbearing, something her children had previously claimed was impossible, before finally being talked out of her manic state by an exhausted Mr. Weasley.

Harry's life, however seemed to heading in the opposite direction compared the rest of the Burrow. It was the day of the full moon and he had been diligently consuming his Wolfsbane potion, though due to Hermione's insistence he didn't have much choice. Given the positive effects that the potion would have come later that night, he'd expected that the effects it would have in the days leading up to it would be equally as good.

By the end of the week, he had learned that the opposite was true. His healthy and improved appearance that he had garnered since his first lunar cycle, was replaced by an almost corpse-like appearance, bringing with it another round of mothering from Mrs. Weasley. He was surprised by the fact that he senses seemed to diminish as well, but chalked it up to the potion taking effect.

He had just finished the last goblet of the potion when Hermione burst through the door, an exasperated look on her face.

"Five days of research through dozens of books and what do I have to show for it? Nothing."

"Come on Hermione, for the hundredth time, it's not that serious."

"But you partially transformed Harry, and it wasn't even a full moon. That's not supposed to happen." She pulled out, what had to be the twentieth book she'd found on werewolves and proceeded to pour through it looking for her answers. "I've found nothing on non-lunar transformations, let alone partial ones." Before she could continue reading, Harry had removed the book from her grasp and thrown it onto the bed.

"Hermione, relax please. I appreciate your concern but I don't want you worrying so much that you overexert yourself again." She looked into his eyes and only saw concern and finally relented to his request.

"Fine, but I'm still coming with you tonight."

"And I'm sure nothing I say could convince you otherwise." A sly grin adorned his face as he received a playful smack from Hermione.

"You've nothing to worry about Harry," her hand now returning to the place she just hit him, this time giving him a reassuring squeeze. "The potion will work and you've taken it every do."

"But what if it doesn't work. It tore me up that you could've been bitten that night, I don't want to even imagine how I would feel if it was me that did it." The look in his eyes was that of determination, courage, but also of great fear. She knew that Harry would never want to put her in harm's way and she respected him greatly for it.

She matched the intensity of his gaze, "I. Will. Not. Abandon. You." She enunciated each word clearly with a passion that left Harry no room to argue. In all honesty, he was overwhelmed by the warmth of having a friend that Hermione, that before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped her in a hug reminiscent of the ones she gave him.

"Thank you."

 _Later That Night_

Harry and Hermione made their way through the passage under the Whomping Willow towards the shrieking shack. The former walked with hesitation due to the fear that something bad would happen when the moon finally did rise. The later walked with a confidence surrounding her in order to reassure Harry that everything would be fine, despite the fact that was also extremely nervous about the outcome of this night.

As they entered the dilapidated building they were greeted by Sirius but quickly noticed the absence of the veteran werewolf.

"Where's Lupin?"

"Sorry Harry, Dumbledore asked Remus to go do a job for him so he won't be able to be here tonight." He walked over and draped his arms over both teen's shoulders, a wry grin on his face. "Don't worry you two, you are both safe here in my very capable hands." A groan escaped Harry's lips as Hermione shook her head, she failed to hide the smile that currently dominated her face.

"Oh lucky me," Harry said in mock disgust, his godfather ruffling his hair for his trouble. It was still a few minutes before the rise from the moon so each of them found different was too pass the time. Sirius began trying out the wand that Dumbledore had procured for him, trying out a variety of simple spells to familiarize himself with it until he could get his old wand back. Hermione sat in a corner of the room, opened her copy of their new charms textbook, and began studying for the coming school year. She looked up from her book after a few moments and saw that Harry had simply began staring out the window waiting for the inevitable.

Sirius stopped his spellcasting and looked at Harry before moving his attention to the other teenager.

"You sure you want to be here for this Hermione?"

She looked over at Harry, whose eyes had left the window and were now focused on her, the same question could be seen in his eyes.

"Yes." The smile she gave him told Harry all he needed to know as he eyes moved back to the sky with a small smile on his face. Sirius also smiled at the scene in front of him. He was happy that Harry had the same support from his loved ones that he and the Marauders had given Remus. He was grateful that Hermione was so adamant to help Harry anyway that she could, her loyalty to the boy was undeniable. He also found himself wondering if there could be something more there…

His thoughts were broken by the sight of moonlight moving across the floor towards them. Hermione immediately put her book away as she moved behind a now transformed Sirius. She watched as the familiar sight of Harry's changing eyes took place and his muscles began to tense. Harry opened his mouth, which was now filled with sharpened fangs and roared into the air as his body began to change.

Hermione closed her eyes and not wanting to relive the sight she had to endure last time, deciding to only listen to what was happening right in front of her. Focusing on the sound of Harry's roar, she was startled when it slowly receded into a strangled breath, before the sickening sound of bone hitting the floor forced her eyes open.

She gasped at the sight of Harry sprawled on his side, convulsing violently as white foam began pouring out of his mouth. She moved faster than she thought possible over to his prone position cradling his body trying to stave off his violent shaking. Sirius soon followed lifting Harry's head up to get a good look at him. If the lack of life in his eyes wasn't already troubling, the fact that his eyes seemed to constantly shift back and forth without his control worried the man a lot more.

"Sirius!" The escaped convict seemed to not here her so she grabbed his shoulder and shook him to get his attention. "Sirius! We need to do something." Sirius quickly regained himself and pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Harry.

" _Stupefy"_ and Harry's body immediately stilled. Seeing the flicker of rage cross Hermione's face, he explained himself. "If he's conscious, his convulsions could cause him a lot of harm. It's better for him and easier for us to carry him to the infirmary." With that he lifted Harry into his arms and headed back towards the castle with Hermione in tow.

 _The Next Morning_

Hermione, Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore were waiting patiently in his office for news about Harry. Madam Pomfrey had vacated the infirmary after admitting Harry, refusing to allow anyone to check on him until she was sure his condition had improved.

It was around this time that the hearth in the office erupted with green flames as Remus Lupin entered the office.

"Any news on Harry's condition?"

"Nothing yet Remus, but we have Poppy's assurances that once she knows something, she will let us know." A familiar silence fell on the room for several further moments before the head nurse entered the room, a look of relief on her face.

"Mr. Potter's condition is stable and he should make a full recovery. He should be able to leave the hospital wing in time for the start of term."

A collective sigh escaped the inhabitants of the room as it seemed that most of Harry's hardships were over for now. It was Sirius who next asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What exactly happened to him?"

"The best answer that I have is that Mr. Potter suffered from Aconite poisoning." A shocked look crossed the faces of the Headmaster, Remus, and Hermione while Sirius didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the statement. Turning towards the fireplace, Sirius bid farewell to everyone in the room before returning to where ever he was hiding out, leaving the remaining individuals to try and decipher this new turn of events.

"That shouldn't be possible. There shouldn't be enough Wolfsbane in the potion to poison someone." Remus looked at Hermione, h the stare he gave her was all she needed to know what his question was.

"I didn't mess up the potion. Professor Snape check my batch before I took it to the Burrow with me." She pleaded for them to believe her and was relieved when she saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes returned.

"I trust that Miss Granger is not to blame for what happened to Harry. This does however, add certain complications to the young man's future in the magical world."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry's reaction to the potion means that using it to help control his transformations is no longer possible. We'll have to find another way for him to learn control."

Remus' eyes widened at what Dumbledore was implying. "You can't surely mean for Harry to try and learn control himself? It's impossible."

Hermione could sense the fear and tension in the room but didn't understand the conversation completely herself. "What do you mean?"

"Miss Granger, have ever heard the story of the Beast of Gevaudan?" She nodded her head in affirmation, prompting Lupin to continue. "The story has been adapted by muggle folklore but the true story goes that a werewolf killed over 100 people in the town of its namesake. Unable to control himself, he continued until he discovered that he had killed his wife and young daughter. According to our legend, he was overcome with grief and in an act of penetrance, managed to control the wolf within him long enough for someone to kill him."

"How did he gain control? Like you said Prof- I mean Remus, it's impossible."

"Since he died, we've no way to learn how he did it, or even he even did." The tone of his voice during the las part made it clear that he was skeptical of how true the story is. "The common belief is that he found an anchor, something powerful enough to help him hold onto his humanity, but again we're not even sure it's possible."

"But this is Harry we're talking about. If anyone can manage something like that…it would be him."

Lupin looked at the girl and what he saw briefly warmed his heart. He saw unbridled hope in her eyes and a determination he hadn't seen since the days when Lily Potter was still alive. He almost began to believe himself, but the reality of the situation came crashing back down on him. "I'm sorry Hermione but nothing about Harry's condition is abnormal. It's highly unlikely that something like this is possible."

Hermione felt her heart break at the news. She didn't want to accept that Harry was beyond help but the world seemed to be against him. This train of thought continued for a few more moments before something Lupin said caught her attention

 _Nothing about Harry's condition is abnormal._

Dumbledore saw the contemplative look on her face. "Miss Granger? Is there something that myself and Remus should know?"

"I'm not sure Professor but I've noticed a few other side effects of Harry's condition."

Intrigued and hopeful at the possibility of helping Harry, Remus took a step forward and asserted himself into the conversation.

"What do you mean side-effects?"

She hesitated at first but relented that her best course for finding the answers she's looking for. "At first…I noticed that his eyes would flash like they do when he turns sometimes. For a while that's all there was but eventually, I noticed that his senses and reflexes would improve when it would happen." She paused and looked the two men in eyes before continuing. "Then at the World Cup…he seemed to…partially transform."

"What!?" Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That shouldn't be possible. It usually only happens with individuals who've been afflicted for a while but even then most wolves never gain the ability."

"What does all this mean?" She first looked at Remus but was disappointed when he seemed either unable or unwilling to answer her. Her focus then shifted to the headmaster, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"I'm not sur what these developments mean Miss Granger. We will discover in due time." His face then turned back to his usual grandfather-like smile. "Now however, I believe that Mr. Potter may be lonely by himself in the hospital wing." Realizing what exactly Dumbledore was saying, Hermione's eyes widened as she turned on the spot and dashed out the door towards the infirmary where her best friend was recovering.

"This news is rather startling Albus." He was deeply concerned about all the information they'd learned in the last 24 hours. "Harry's condition must come out to the public."

"Yes Remus. It seems as though Harry's situation has become infinitely more complicated."

"If certain people find out about this, Harry will be shunned from society. With the Death Eaters making themselves known again, this information could seriously help their cause."

"Yes, it is imperative that the likes of Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters never discover Harry's secret."

Remus looked away from Albus and gaze into the cackling fire in the hearth.

"It's not them I'm worried about."


	8. The Animal I Have Become

Chapter 8 – Animal I Have Become

It was a few days later that Harry was released from Hospital Wing, just in time for the school year to begin. Both Hermione and Lupin informed him about his aversion to the Wolfsbane potion and how that would affect life at Hogwarts. Upon hearing the news, Hermione noticed that Harry immediately began to doubt himself, even going as far as suggesting that he should leave the school so as not to hurt anyone.

Hermione immediately chastised him for that line of thought.

With the knowledge that his affliction was bleeding over into his normal life, Lupin decided that he would come to Hogwarts to help Harry learn to control his transformations, but for now Harry was told to try to keep his emotions in check to limit the possibility of an accidental shift.

Now however, the Hogwarts students, new faces and returning bodies, had arrived via the Hogwarts Express and the hottest topic in the Great Hall was the absence of Harry Potter on the train. His presence at the welcome back feast, only caused further stories to circulate. All talk of the Boy-Who-Lived however to halt when Professor Dumbledore moved to the podium to make a few announcements.

"Before we begin to indulge ourselves in want I'm sure will be a wonderful feast, I have a few announcements to make. First, I would like to inform you all that the house Quidditch tournament has been cancelled this year." There was a collective groan from a majority of the hall. _No Quidditch,_ Harry thought. _What reason would Dumbledore have for possibly cancelling Quidditch?_ His thoughts were interrupted as the Headmaster raised his hands to silence the students. "Don't worry, Quidditch hasn't been cancelled outright, but I must inform you that an exciting event will be taking place at Hogwarts… The Triwizard Tournament."

He paused briefly, allowing a low murmur to manifest across the hall before continuing his explanation. "The tournament will begin in October, when two other magical academies will join us during the curse of this school year. They are Beauxbatons Academy of Magic from France and the Durmstrang Institute from Eastern Europe. Once they arrive, a champion will be selected from each school to perform a number of tasks, made to challenge them. I will explain more when they arrive next month."

"With the addition of two schools, there will be Quidditch matches between the schools, as well as any recreational matches you may wish to indulge yourself with. But now we have waited long enough, let the feast begin."

 _A Few Weeks Later_

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were enjoying themselves on the grounds after a long day of classes. They had just left their Defense against the Dark Arts class, finally being finished with Professor Moody's review of what they should've learned in their first two years.

'I can't believe that you don't like Moody's Defense classes Hermione." Ron regularly brought this issue up after every single class. Having grown up with his parents telling stories about Mad-eye and his exploits during the First Wizarding War, he thought the deranged teacher was an amazing teacher.

"It's not that I don't like the class Ron, I actually think we are learning a lot of really great and important things. It's Professor Moody I don't like." Hermione had been put off by Moody ever since he demonstrated the three Unforgivable Curses and was even more put off by how thy particularly effected Harry and Neville.

"You're not still on about him doing the curses in class are you?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and this only caused the look on his face to become even more incredulous. "Even you have to admit that we need to know how the curse work in case we ever encounter them."

Hermione also agreed with this sentiment but she stuck with her earlier resolve. He could've at least been ore tactful about it, especially knowing that the Killing Curse was the reason for Harry's misfortune. Before she could respond, Cedric Diggory approached the group.

"Hello Harry, Ron, Hermione."

"Hey Cedric. What's up mate?"

"Actually Harry, I wanted to talk to you about setting up a Quidditch game."

Harry was dumbfounded. Cedric Diggory, prefect, seeker, and all around popular guy wanted to set up a Quidditch match with him…for fun.

"Wow Cedric. What's this all about?" Ron was a little put off that the Hufflepuff hadn't asked him if he wanted to pay Quidditch but his overall curiosity was currently beating his jealousy.

"Since I figured our match last year was a little unfair, I figured we could have a rematch. Same teams and all."

"That sounds great Cedric, but Wood left school last year and I'm sure some of your team may have left too."

"I don't think it'll be hard to find people to fill in. Besides we can act like it's for the Quidditch cup this year." Both boys grinned at this and Cedric extended his hand to seal the deal, which Harry quickly took. The older boy turned to walk away but another thought came to Harry's mind, causing him to call out after him.

"Hey Cedric? Are you gonna try out for the Hogwarts team."

The two exchanged a brief stare before Cedric smiled sheepishly, looking down at the floor. "Sorry Harry, I don't think I will. I want to try my luck at being school champion and I don't want anything to interfere with that."

Harry was briefly saddened that he wasn't going to be playing with Cedric but decided to support his decision nevertheless. "Well if you do get selected, I'll support you one hundred percent."

With a wave of acknowledgement, Cedric rounded the corner out of sight. Harry turned back around to look at his friends, seeing a small smile on Hermione's face, rolling her eyes, and murmuring something along the lines of "Boys…" It was the look on Ron's face that startled him however that startled him. His best friend had a rather envious and disgruntled look on his face that immediately told Harr that something was wrong.

Before anything could be said however, a sneering voice could be heard calling from behind Harry's back. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Malfoy was the last person Harry wanted to deal with. Especially with the full moon being only a few days away. Realizing that there was no way out of the confrontation, Harry turned around to face him.

"Well, well, well, Potter. I hear that you want to be on the Hogwarts Quidditch team this year." His arrogant demeanor only increased when he saw his rival take a defensive stance towards him.

"What's it to you, Malfoy?"

"You might as well give up now Potter, you don't stand a chance of making the cut."

Ron stepped forward, showing his support for Harry, his previous Jealousy forgotten. "And you think you'll do any better Malfoy?"

"Oh I think I will Weaselby. You see my father couldn't believe that Potter hear had gotten a Firebolt last year and I didn't, so he immediately corrected that situation." Harry didn't think it was possible for someone to be this arrogant, but the git in front of him kept proving that sentiment wrong.

"We'll see who wins at try outs later Malfoy." Harry stepped forward, his eyes matching the intensity of his words, briefly startling Malfoy by the power and conviction of it all. This lapse of façade only lasted a brief second before his arrogant smile returned.

"Come one Potter. We both know that I'm the superior player here. The only reason you even made your Quidditch team was because you're Harry Potter." Malfoy was positive that the only reason that Scarhead made his house team in his first year was because of his time a scoff from Hermione's direction diverted his attention.

"Please Malfoy, Harry hasn't lost a single game against you or Slytherine." Seeing the rage growing in the snake's eyes, Hermione decided to go for the final blow. "Besides, if you think a fancy new broom will help you beat Harry, just remember second year."

The last comment caused Malfoy's rage to boil over exponentially. The match in question was one of the worst memories he had at Hogwarts. The fact the Potter beat him when he had a superior broom, was something that Malfoy just couldn't accept, placing the blame on anywhere but the fact that Potter had superior skill.

"I don't remember asking you Mudblood! If I wanted a use for your mouth, I'd have you kneel in front of me, the only thing your kind is good for." Malfoy immediately regretted his words as Harry lunged at him. It took both Ron and Hermione to restrain Harry from thrashing the arrogance off of Malfoy's face. Sensing the danger, Draco turned and fled off in the direction of the Slytherine Common Room.

Hermione looked Harry in the eyes, pleading with him to drop it. It was at that moment that a low growl radiated from his throat and his eye began to change color. Panicking that he was losing control, Harry immediately threw himself into the nearest classroom, with his best friends attempting to follow him in. Before they could enter the door slammed shut in front of them. Beginning to turn frantic, Hermione and Ron began trying to pull the door open but to know avail.

"Open the door Harry!"

"No stay back, I can't control it."

Hermione managed to get the door open before she saw Harry scrambling towards the center of the room.

"Please go! I don't know what's gonna happen!" With that, he dropped to the floor and let out a loud roar before beginning to pace wildly through the room. Hermione remained fixed to the spot, until Ron had managed to get a good hold of her and pull her back into the hallway.

"What in Merlin are you doing Ron? We have to go back in there." Hermione grabbed the door handle to reenter the room, but was stopped when a loud crashing noise from behind it startled her. Ron quickly grabbed her and moved her back to the opposite wall, as the violent sounds continued to emerge from the room.

It was several minutes later that the classroom that Harry entered finally quieted down to an almost unnatural silence. Tentatively, Hermione inched her way towards the door and began to crack it open, her eyes widening to the sight that was before her.

The desks that once lined the room were now scattered through it, some having been torn apart, while others were simply thrown across the room. Sitting in front of the teacher's desk, was Harry, his fingers still adorned with claws and his eyes sill glowing. He appeared to be almost in a trance like state, staring at his hands as if there was a detail present that was the most important thing to him.

She moved towards him a tentative hand outstretched until she was close enough to touch him. At the first contact, Harry recoiled, bearing his teeth in a threatening manner. Hermione however refused to back down from her friend.

"Harry? It's okay. It's me Hermione." She saw a flash of recognition before he shut his eyes and began to breathe at a regular place. Slowly his claws began to recede and the light behind his eye lids began to dim, until he opened his eyes again and stared at Hermione's face. 'Everything's okay," was the last thing she said before wrapping him up in a brief and light hug.

"I'm sorry about all this guys. I thought I had a better handle on it," Harry grinned trying to light the mood of what just happened, but this only seemed to anger Hermione slightly.

"Harry you need to control yourself, especially with the full moon coming. You can't just lash out Harry."

"I can't necessarily control it Hermione. What do you want me to do?" He was getting frustrated that she didn't understand how difficult it was to keep his instincts in check.

"You need to keep control," she exclaimed, her voice raising in volume. She let out a long sigh before regaining her composure. "If you can't keep your temper in check Harry, this is going to be a lot more difficult."

"I know Hermione. I know. It's just…" he locked eyes with her for a few seconds, trying to get her to see what he was trying to say. "No one deserves to be talked to like that. Especially not you." He looked down at the floor, starting to feel embarrassed that Malfoy had gotten under his skin.

"I appreciate that Harry, but you can't let it get to you."

"I know." He looked sheepishly around the room before peering at his two friends again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you guys think you can help me straighten this up?"

"Oh so now he wants our help." The grin on Ron's face showed that he was kidding and the trio began to set the classroom back into working order.

Before they knew it, it was 4:00 and it was time for Quidditch tryouts. Both Harry and Ron were vying for a spot on the team so they went into the changing area laving Hermione on the stands to watch. When the tryouts actually began Hermione opened up a book in front of her, barely paying attention to the action in front of her. She briefly glanced up during the chaser tryouts and saw that Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were all doing fairly well, but son returned to her book. She looked up again after several minutes to see the twins trying out for the Beater positions. The two were taking their time to show off and fool around a little bit, deciding to bounce the Bludger back and forth instead of trying to hit the target Madam Hooch had set up. Shaking her head she returned to her book.

Madam Hooch announced the start of Keeper Tryouts and had all the potentials line up to take turns defending the hoops. There were seven people in total in attendance, Ron going second to last out of all of them.

When it was Ron's turn, he had his work cut out for him. The current leader was Herbert Fleet, a Hufflepuff, who had managed to save eight out of the ten shots that were thrown at him. Ron nervously mounted his broom, becoming more unnerved as he glided closer and closer to the rings. Harry and Hermione were both watching this exchange eagerly. The three chasers approached him, each with a Quaffle in hand and began to throw at him one at a time.

Ron reached his hand out and managed to block the first one, resulting in cheers from the Gryffindor section. His confidence rising, a smile graced his face as he prepared for the next sot to come.

When it was all said and done, Ron had managed to save eight of the shots, tying Fleet and another guy names Matthias Blanch for the most saves. Madam Hooch informed them that she would determine who would make the final cut by examining each of their techniques.

Hermione had only paid attention to the tryouts when it was Ron's turn, and promptly went back to her book. Her attention was diverted back to the action on the field when it was announced that Seeker tryouts were about to begin.

Harry mounted his Firebolt as Hooch explained how the tryout was going to go. Two seekers would be paired off and they both would have to race after the same snitch. Whoever caught it, would go on, while the loser wouldn't make the team. She would then determine who had caught their snitch the fastest and that person who make the team. Harry couldn't help but groan when he was paired off with none other than Malfoy.

"Get ready Potter. I'm about to show you what superior flying looks like." Harry gritted his teeth and hovered ready for Madam Hooch to give the go ahead. Hermione watched him, almost sensing the emotion radiating off of him when the familiar flash of gold caught her attention. When he heard the whistle blow, he raced forward, neck and neck with Malfoy, following the snitch closely trying to gain an advantage.

They flew at an even pace for several seconds when Harry saw the snitch shoot upward and attempt to fly out the opposite direction. Acting on instinct, Harry pushed off his broom with both hands and made a grab for the snitch. When he did so he began to slide off the back of his broom, but managed to hook one of his legs around the end of it, stopping him from falling.

Hermione gasped when she thought he would plummet to the ground, much like last year, but let out the breath he was holding when she saw that he had caught himself. Seeing another flash of gold, Hermione saw that Harry had managed to catch the snitch in his right hand, his risky maneuver paying off. It was after a few seconds of focusing on him that she saw that the flash of gold wasn't the snitch but the color of his eyes changing again.

It wasn't until they made their way back to the common room later that Hermione confronted Harry about what she saw. They were sitting in front of the fireplace in the common room. Hermione had continued reading her book from earlier while Harry tried his best at finishing a potions essay that Snape had assigned him.

"Harry did you notice anything strange happening during your tryout?"

"No I didn't notice anything. Why? Did you see something Hermione?"

"I saw your eyes flashing while you were up in the air. I'm not sure if it means anything but I'm a little worried about what it means."

Harry thought about that for a few long moments before answering her. "Maybe it means I'm learning control. I'll have to try and figure out what triggered my eyes to see if it could help me at all." Hermione smiled at the initiative her friend was showing, but before they could continue any further, a yawn escaped Harry's lips. She looked at the clock in the room and saw that curfew had been several hours ago

"Well, I think that's an investigation for another time. We should probably head off to bed."

"Yeah you're right. Night Hermione."

"Night Harry"

Both headed up to their dormitories where the exhaustion of the day's events finally caught up to them and they both fell into a deep slumber.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hey sorry I haven't been updating as frequently. I've been wanting to post at least 2 or 3 chapters a week but with school starting its been extremely difficult.**_

 _ **Some people have stated that they think my chapters should be longer, so hopefully starting next chapter, each one should be a bit longer once the story gets going.**_

 _ **I've also decide that I'm going to start naming a majority of my chapters after songs that make sense. This one should be pretty easy but I'll be impressed if anyone can name all the bands that the song name comes from.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading.**_


	9. From Afar

Chapter 9 – From Afar

The quiet anticipation that surrounded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for three weeks after the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament came to an abrupt halt the day the other schools were set to arrive. The student body was bubbling with unbridled excitement, barely maintaining enough composure for their classes that day.

For Harry, it was a different story. The calm and relief that he had made it through his first full moon at Hogwarts improved his mood immensely. An unexpected but not unwanted side effect of this was that he began to have a more optimistic outlook on his condition, something Ron and Hermione quickly noticed as his grades began to improve and he began to spend more time with Hermione, trying to decipher the mysteries surrounding his ailment.

"Are you sure that the book didn't have any useful information?"

"No Harry, the only thing I found in _The Physiology of Dark Creatures,_ was that werewolves can learn to shift without the moon if the curse matures for a few years but we already knew that." Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. They had looked through nearly every book in the Hogwarts library but their search brought forth no results. Her frustration threatened to spill out as the sounds of Ron eating loudly across from her began to aggravate her. She opened her mouth to lash out before she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Turning to her left and meeting the emerald green eyes of her other best friend.

"Hey, we'll figure it out Hermione," the small grin on his face was infectious, a similar smile spreading across her own. "If anyone can it'd be you. Besides, if you give up hope, what do you think I should do then?"

The last part was intended as a joke, but the actual words hit Hermione hard. She chastised herself for not seeing that Harry was he only person with the right to give up. The fact that she was almost ready to throw in the towel and she was enough to make her hate herself.

The hand on her shoulder moved to pat her on the back and another smile from Harry set her right, her self-loathing being temporarily forgotten. She would've thanked him for setting her right but before she could, a voice yelled from somewhere in the hall.

"Look! What's that in the sky?"

Sure enough, a large black shape was descending towards the Hogwarts grounds. The closer it drew, its shape became more defined, becoming that of a large carriage being drawn by equally large horses. The emptied faster than it had in anyone's recent memory as students and faculty alike ran onto the grounds to get a glimpse of the new arrivals.

-HP-

Fleur Delacour was miserable inside of the Beauxbatons carriage. They had begun to make the journey from their school in France for the Scottish countryside and the Quarter-Veela was not enjoying the trip. Being jostled around inside a carriage high up in the school, being cooped up with her fellow schoolmates was not her idea of a perfect trip.

The feeling was mutual as most of her classmates were at least apprehensive of her, if they didn't downright despise her. Being a Veela had the unfortunate side effect of creating jealousy amongst her peers, as well as a sense of distrust. It was their belief that she was out to steal their boyfriends from them and because of her allure, most boys didn't pay any of the other girls any mind, instead focusing on Fleur.

Fleur took all of this in stride. Early on in her life, she was deeply hurt by the discrimination she faced by being part Veela but overtime she outgrew said feelings. She used her heritage and abilities to her advantage, putting on a cold front in order to maintain a form of dominance amongst her fellow students.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the carriage began its descent back towards the earth, signaling that they had almost arrived at their destination. It was after a few minutes that their vessel abruptly hit the ground, causing all of the occupants inside to stumble.

Collecting herself, Fleur approached the door first alongside her headmistress, Madam Maxime, as the door to the carriage was opened on the other side. Across the Threshold, was a large man, that she could've sworn must've been at least eight feet tall and was large enough that he wouldn't fit properly through the door. Maxime cordially accepted his outstretched hand and exited her carriage, her students following in tow.

Shivers began erupting through Fleur's body as she tried to adapt to the much colder Hogwarts climate. Beauxbatons was in the much warmer parts of South France, so their uniforms weren't made to accommodate the cold climate. As this thought crossed her mind, an elderly man who appeared as though he could've been as old as the castle behind him, approached Maxime and began welcoming them to their new home for the year.

Fleur barely paid attention however, as her gaze became fixed on the gathering of Hogwarts students out in front of the castle. Disgust immediately crashed over her as she saw the very familiar look that seemed to be on every man's face as she scanned the crowd. It wasn't until her eyes fixed on a raven-haired boy that her glare paused momentarily. The young man in question didn't seem to be affected by her allure, unlike the red haired boy standing next to him, who seemed to be the worst affected out of the whole group. In fact, he wasn't paying her any mind, his attention on the bushy-haired girl that he was engrossed in conversation with.

Her mind began to race as she couldn't quite decide if she was impressed that he had that much control over himself, or annoyance that her natural abilities seemed to be failing when it came to this individual. What didn't help was the sense of déjà vu. Where had she seen him before?

-HP-

"Seriously Hermione, you need to calm down. I'm sure that just because there will be more people around the castle, it doesn't mean that I need to be any more worried around the full moon than I already am."

"I know Harry. It's just that with two other schools being present, we have to be careful that they don't figure out what you are."

Harry gave her a look that let her know that he appreciated her concern, but also told her to drop it. To his annoyance, she didn't. "Look, we don't know what they teach at these schools. They might be able to see the telling signs of lycanthropy and then the whole wizarding world will be after you."

"Alright, alright. I'll be more careful Hermione, but with the amount of time you spend talking about my 'condition', all someone would have to do is walk by and they'd figure it out," he concluded, playfully shoving her arm to show that he was only teasing her about her exhaustive efforts to help him. It was after she swatted him on the arm back that he caught a familiar scent.

He looked forward at the growing number of Beauxbaton students, hoping to sniff out where the scent was coming from. It didn't take long before he saw a blonde haired witch, eyeing him inquisitively, before breaking her gaze and walking away, the scent following her away. He tried to remember where he remembered that scent from before but the thought left his mind as a commotion from the Black Lake caught his attention.

Harry looked over the water to see a mast breaking the surface of the lake, moving towards the shoreline.

"Whoa!" was all Harry and Ron could say as the mast began to rise higher out of the water, revealing a ship with it.

"Harry, come on. I can't see anything." Hermione tried all her might to peer over top the crowd between her and the Black Lake, but couldn't see over the sea of bodies in front of her. She tried for a few more seconds before she felt herself being lifted off of the ground and on to somebodies shoulders.

"Harry! Put me down!"

"Aw come one Hermione. At least now you can see." They both watched as the ship had completely breached the surface and the students of Durmstrang began to file out.

"Harry look! It's Krum!" Sure enough at the front of the pack, walking beside a man who Harry presumed was his headmaster, was the star seeker Viktor Krum. After several minutes of ogling from Ron and many of the Hogwarts girls, Harry managed to corral his red haired friend back inside to hear about the champion selection.

 _One Week Later_

Hermione exited the Great Hall after the twins' failed attempt at entering their names into the Goblet of Fire. She had tried to warn them that their attempt was futile, but after realizing that they wouldn't listen to her she resigned herself to watching them fail spectacularly, and fail they did.

It was moments after her exit that she became aware of the absence of Harry. He and the Weasley twins had made the Hogwarts Quidditch team, along with Roger Davies, Alicia Spinnet, Malcolm Preese as Chasers, and Herbert Fleet had made Keeper. The team had had a practice that morning and seeing the twins in the Great Hall meant that practice was over, but Harry was nowhere to be found.

She continued walking until she came Across Ron, who was on his way down to the hall to eat some lunch and watch as potential champions entered their name into the Goblet.

"Hey Ron, have you seen Harry?"

"No I haven't. He's probably still at the Quidditch pitch. Got to practice since he's on the team." Hermione could hear the resentment behind Ron's words. Though he tried his hardest to deny it, she could tell that Ron was jealous that Harry and his brothers had made the team and he had not. She decided that now was probably not the most ideal time to confront Ron about it, so she tried to detour his thoughts elsewhere.

"Going down to see who puts their name in the Goblet?"

"Yeah, I just wish that one of us could do it. Eternal glory..." Hermione could see the longing in his expression and could find the hidden meaning behind his words. He wanted to be able to put his name forth but was simply being diplomatic about it.

"Well I wouldn't enter myself in it, people have died from this tournament. As for Harry…well, we both know how he feels about all the attention."

"Yeah, I guess so," was all Ron could say in response, but they both knew that his heart wasn't really into it.

"Okay well, I'll see you after bit. I'm going to find Harry."

Alright. See ya later."

Hermione made her way down to the Quidditch pitch, and began peering the skies for Harry. Not catching sight of him on his broom, she cupped her mouth and called out "Harry", hoping to get a response.

"I'm right here Hermione."

She nearly jumped out of her skin when his voice came from directly behind her. Turning around she was greeted by a grinning Harry, who was currently hanging upside down from his broom a few feet off the ground.

Swatting him on the shoulder, she began to admonish him. "Prat! You scared me half to death." Slowly she realized the position she found her friend in and wanted to know what he was up to. "Why're you upside down Harry."

"I don't know. Just trying to clear my head."

"Well get down before you hurt yourself."

Instead of floating a few feet closer to the ground before getting off his Firebolt, Harry simply unwrapped his legs from broom, nimbly landing on his feet as said broom landed directly into his waiting arms.

"Harry, how'd you do that?"

"I'm not sure. I've found I can do more physical and acrobatic things when I concentrate."

"You mean like lifting me up onto your shoulders?" A slight blush crossed her face.

Harry had the decency to look bashful and began rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah like that I guess."

Together, they left the Quidditch pitch in a comfortable silence. The pair had gotten a lot more comfortable together, walks like this where neither person said anything, accepting each other's company had become quite common.

"You ready to head to head t Great Hall for tonight's feast Harry?" She saw his eyes darken slightly as he reached into the pocket of his robes, grasping something that she couldn't see before he turned to answer her.

"Not yet. There's something I feel like I need to do." He then turned and made his way towards the Black Lake. Her curiosity piqued, Hermione decided to follow him, wondering what had gotten into him. They approached the shore of the lake and Harry kneeled down at the water's edge and took the item out of his pocket. Hermione saw that he had pulled a flower out of his robes. A lily.

She gasped as she finally realized what had gotten into her best friend. Today was the anniversary of his parent's deaths, the night that changed his life forever. She could tell that the ghosts of that night still haunted him, a reminder of why he resented his treatment as the Boy-Who-Lived. As he set the lily down into the water and the current carried it away, Hermione moved up to his side, and wrapped him in a hug from his side. He didn't move for several moments before laying his head on top of hers, a sign of gratitude for her being there.

"Thank you. It seems to get harder every year that I do this, but having some here to support me helps." They both stood up at the same time and made their way back towards the castle, the selection of the Triwizard Champions about to begin.

-HP-

After all of the people in the Great Hall finished eating, Dumbledore motioned to the Goblet of Fire, which flames had begun to burn brightly once again as the time for the selection.

"Eternal glory," began the Hogwarts Headmaster, his words effectively ensuring that he had everyone's attention before continuing. "That's what awaits any person who is selected as champion. I must warn you, if your name does come out of the goblet, there is no turning back."

Facing the goblet, the flames began to turn from blue to purple as a charred piece of parchment erupted from it. Catching it, Dumbledore turned to the crowd.

"The Beauxbatons champions is…Miss Fleur Delacour."

Small instances of applause came from the Beauxbaton students sitting at the Ravenclaw table as Fleur stood and made her way to the front of the hall, and out the door where she was instructed. Harry's gaze followed her the whole way, still unable to place the familiarity he had with her.

Another purple flame brought another parchment soaring into the air.

"The Durmstrang Champions is….Viktor Krum!"

Thunderous applause came from the Durmstrang students and some Slytherins as Krum triumphantly followed the same path Fleur had taken.

Harry heard Ron mutter from his left, "Knew he'd get picked."

The last bit of parchment was spewed from the goblet, followed by another announcement, 'The Hogwarts Champion is…Cedric Diggory." A final explosion of applause filled the hall as the third champion joined the other two.

Dumbledore had now turned back to the remaining students and said, "Our three champions will compete in three task, designed to test their skills and knowledge. These tasks will be perilous, but whoever comes out on top will win a most coveted prize…the Triwizard Cup!"

Suddenly a large cup appear on the table next to the Goblet of Fire, dazzling all those in attendance with its grandeur. The hall filled with cheers once again, until the flames of the goblet began to glow purple again. Moving forward cautiously, Dumbledore was surprised when another piece of charred parchment erupted from the Goblet. Catching it, he read the name and looked out into the crowd for the person in question.

"Harry Potter?"

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **So we finally got up to the champions selection. If all goes according to plan with the story, we should be through the Goblet of Fire by around Chapter 20. I do plan on continuing the story after that, but I may take a break around then.**_

 _ **The pat involving Harry mourning his parents is slightly influenced by the story "Harry Potter and the Other Champion." If you like Harry/Fleur stories, I definitely recommend checking that one out.**_

 _ **Finally, I should inform you that I went back and significantly altered Chapter 6. As I've continued writing this story, I realized that Harry saving Fleur and Gabrielle during the World Cup didn't fit with where I want the story to go. So you should go back and reread that chapter. It also didn't help that I realized that that particular plot devise has been beaten to a pulp by the fanfiction community.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading.**_


	10. Prelude to Doom

Chapter 10 – Prelude to Doom

The excitement of the selection ceremony had died down to slow murmur, as moonlight began to shine through the castle corridors. Rumors were circulating about the unexpected fourth champion, Harry Potter. Most were quick to discredit him as an attention-seeking brat who wanted to steal the fame of the other champions for himself, others believed he would do such a thing. The serenity of Gryffindor Tower was interrupted by the opening of the Fat Lady's portrait. Exiting from the common room in a huff, was the Boy-Who-Lived.

"How could he think I entered myself in?" Harry said to no one but himself. He knew that most people wouldn't believe him when he said that he didn't put his name in, but to his great shock, Ron was one of the nonbelievers. Frustrated by his friends lack of support and jealousy, Harry walked down the hallway, his temper rising as he progressed. Nearing the staircase, he finally snapped and pounded the side of his fists into the wall, realizing a yell of frustration that came out half as a roar.

"Just stay calm Harry. Stay calm." With his breathing under control he glanced at the wall and saw two sizable cracks where his fists had connected. Casting a quick _Reparo_ he continued his march down the Grand Staircase and out onto the grounds.

-HP-

Hermione had heard the shouting coming from the Boys Dormitory and decided to leave her quarters to go talk to Harry. She knew that a lot of the students didn't believe, some Gryffindors included, and figured that someone had accosted him about his entry in the tournament. When she made it down to the Common Room, she heard the portrait shut and made her way towards it, before hearing a low roar coming from outside.

Hermione quickly peaked her head out, but found no sign of Harry. Knowing that what was bothering him was really serious, she headed back in and up to the Boy's Dormitory too question her other best friend.

"Ron, what happened to Harry?" The mass in Ron's bed simply grunted in response.

Hermione was at first confused by this response, but her mind quickly put two and two together.

"What did you say to Harry, Ron?"

He quickly sat up with a surly expression on his face. "I told the git to piss off."

"You don't actually believe that Harry put is name in the goblet, do you?" A brief glance of guilt crossed Ron's face before his angry expression returned, his glare now focused on Hermione.

"Harry always gets everything, I'm tired of it. He couldn't at least tell me how he did it."

Hermione quickly saw through his deception. "Ronald, how could you?" The guilt briefly returned to his face, but Ron quickly gained control of his emotions, wearing a neutral expression. "You know Harry wants nothing to do with his fame. You're just being jealous!"

Ron didn't answer simply glaring at her further before pulling his sheets over his head. Turning with a huff, Hermione moved towards Harry's bed, and opened his trunk to search for the Marauder's Map. She found it soon after and opened it to search for Harry. His dot was found heading towards the Whomping Willow. Knowing his intended destination, Hermione headed off towards the Shrieking Shack to find her best friend.

-HP-

' _There's something strange about 'Arry Potter.'_

This was the thought that plagued the mind of Fleur Delacour since the night of the champion selection. The stories and comments she heard from the students that sat around her at the Ravenclaw table, painted a very conflicting picture. Some claimed that he was arrogant and constantly seeking attention, while others said that he was a humble students of moderate ability. One thing for sure was certain, things always seemed to happen around him.

Initially, she agreed with the sentiment that he entered the tournament for his own gain. The fact that someone could've entered his name so that he would die was completely insane. Dumbledore said that every precaution was being taken for the champions safety, so to her, it seemed like a feeble excuse.

As time went on however, she started to see a different side of the "leetle boy". His apprehension towards all the attention, both positive and negative, he was getting, though she told herself that it was because most of it was negative. From her own personal experience, she couldn't understand how someone didn't want to have all that attention. Granted, she grew into enjoying the attention, but still, growing up as "the Boy-Who-Lived" means he must be accustomed to it by now.

What she really found strange was his behavior during the wand weighing ceremony. She refused to even look at him during most of the meeting, but when she allow herself to peer over at him, she saw a very nervous, fidgeting young man. The way he seemed to stress over the state of his wand was also a little disconcerting.

Fleur decided that she needed to get all thoughts of Harry Potter out of her head as she headed towards the Quidditch field for the Beauxbaton vs. Hogwarts match.

-HP-

Harry was a nervous wreck as he waited anxiously in the Hogwarts locker room. To say that the last few weeks had been stressful would be an understatement. Quidditch practice had already eaten up a lot of his time, but in the two weeks after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, it had been almost impossible. Their team captain Roger Davies had upped the amount of practices to every other day, while Hermione insisted on Harry preparing for the First Task nearly every day.

On top of all that, one of the starting Chasers, a Hufflepuff, had come down with dragon pox just days before the first match. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but a few weeks earlier, one of the two back-up chasers had an accident during her charms class, and was currently unable to play, meaning that the remaining one had to be used. With Quidditch being the violent game that it was, Harry could only hope that nothing would happen to any of the Chaser, otherwise they may have to forfeit.

The announcement of the Hogwarts team broke him from his thoughts, as he mounted his broom and speed off towards the center of the field. After the captains shook hands, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the game began.

Harry immediately began searching for the golden snitch, occasionally hearing the commentary of Lee Jordan and glancing at the action on the field to keep him updated.

" _ **Spinnet passes to Davies, who speeds towards the hoop. He throws…and he scores! Hogwarts leads Ninety to Forty."**_

Harry clapped for his teammates, hoping that they could get enough of a lead to ensure a Hogwarts victory.

"Look out!"

He looked up just in time to see a bludger heading directly for him. He rolled out of the way but was surprised to still hear that deafening crunch of the ball making contact with bone. He turned his head around to see Cassius Warrington, the Slytherin back-up chaser, falling from his broom.

He was deftly caught by Alicia and Roger before Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling a time out. Roger flew over to her as the rest of the team landed a short distance away.

"It doesn't look like it's going very well," commented one of the twins, seeing Roger waving his arms around in an exasperated manner, before returning over to their position.

"We have no choice. Potter… you'll have to play chaser. Chang, you're seeker."

Harry groaned as this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. After the loss of two chasers, Roger informed him that he would be their last back-up chaser. Harry was barely competent as a chaser, playing seeker was where he truly stood out. He would be lying if he said he wasn't resentful that Cho would be the one to catch the snitch instead of him. He resigned himself to his fate and rose back into the air with the team, lining up alongside Alicia and Roger.

To say that the net few minutes were painful, didn't cover it enough. It became painfully obvious that following the injury, that the Hogwarts team was at a severe disadvantage. The lack of practice between the current three chasers caused a lot of miscommunication in the air.

It was during one of these moments that Harry accidentally collided with Alicia, nearly knocking the two of them off of their brooms.

When his eyes regained focus, Harry became aware that everything seemed to be moving at a slightly slower pace. He looked to his right and the Quaffle heading towards him.

Somehow Harry managed to catch the ball one-handed, before speeding off towards the hoops and threw it in for the score.

" _ **Potter scores! Hogwarts catching up Ninety to One Hundred and Twenty!"**_

The Beauxbatons team wasted no time moving the ball back the other direction, attempting to quickly score in order to keep their lead cemented. One chaser attempted to pass it to her teammate, only for Harry to sweep in out of nowhere and throw it to Alicia.

This continued on for the rest of the game, with Beauxbatons unable to answer the renewed onslaught. Roger passed the ball towards Harry who landed a kick to the Quaffle to score yet another goal.

A whooshing sound caught Harry's ears as he saw that both bludgers were heading towards him. Thinking quickly, Harry pushed off his broom into a backflip, dodging both flying bludgers whose paths crossed before flying off, before landing back on his broom.

Soon after a loud cheer from the Hogwarts section of the stands was heard. Rounding about, Harry saw Cho Chang holding the snitch proudly above her head.

" _ **Chang had caught the Snitch. Hogwarts wins against Beauxbatons Three Hundred and Ten to One Hundred and Forty!"**_

-HP-

One week after the Quidditch match, Harry awoke in his bed and quickly wondered if the events of the previous night was a dream. He had gotten word that Hagrid wanted to show him something so last night, he snuck down to his friend's cabin. What he found when he followed the professor into the Forbidden Forest made it extremely difficult to fall asleep.

 _Dragons._

How in the world did the ministry expect four students to be able to take on live dragons? Every possible outcome raced through Harry's mind, and as far as he could tell, it would be nearly impossible for him to survive.

Making his way down to the common room, he found Hermione already down there waiting. Seeing the bewildered look on his face, Hermione rose and met him near the bottom of the staircase.

"Harry? What is it?" Harry was trying to find where to start. Hermione already was using so much of her time helping him and worrying about him, that he hated to cause her anymore stress. "What did Hagrid show you?" This broke him from his trance and he looked deep into his friend's eyes.

"Not here," he said simply leading her out into the corridor.

"When I went to see Hagrid, he took me into the Forbidden Forest."

"Into the forest? Why on earth would he take you in there?"

Harry exhaled tiredly, knowing that there was no way around this.

"Dragons."

Hermione's eyes widened, unsure if she had heard him correctly. Immediately her mind began ti process everything at lightning speed.

 _How could they expect anyone to stand against a fully grown dragon? How could HARRY stand against such a task? There must be a way around this…._

Her silent thoughts continued for nearly a minute before she remembered that this was about Harry and refocused on the boy in front of her.

"We'll find a way Harry. I'm sure that there are spells that will be helpful when the task comes around." What she didn't say was that she doubted that they had enough power to be able to use such spells, but she refused to allow herself to accept defeat.

"I know Hermione. It's just that with classes, Quidditch, and my lessons with Moony…I'm not sure how I'll be able to fit in even more training time for the First Task." This statement reminded Hermione about what she saw at the Quidditch game and remembered something she wanted to talk about with Harry.

"How're your lessons with Lupin going Harry?"

"Great. I think." Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. In truth his lessons were going well, but maybe not as well as he had hoped. He had learned how to control his senses, being able to lessen and focus on his senses at will had caused the occasional sensory overloads to stop. He had yet however, to be able to control his transformations, still losing consciousness every time it happened. "I've learned to control my sense but not my transformations."

Hermione wanted to say something else but their conversation was interrupted by Professor Moody.

"Potter! With me. I want to show ya something."

As Harry followed the Professor, he decided that now was a good time to practice control of his senses like Remus had suggested. When he opened up his sense of smell, he found a scent that smelled vaguely familiar. He wracked his brain to try and determine where he smelled it before but lost his concentration when the door to Moody's office slammed shut

 _ **Author's Note-**_

 _ **So a lot happened in this chapter which required a lot of time leaps. I didn't feel it necessary to have more than one chapter about the events between the champion selection and the first task so I decided that it would all happen in here.**_

 _ **I hope the Quidditch section of this chapter is satisfactory. I really like Quidditch, but I personally find it difficult to write about. I did the best I could and hopefully it is satisfactory.**_

 _ **One reviewer commented on how he didn't like that Harry didn't have control over his shifts. Don't worry, he will learn control but I feel it's a lot like learning to play a sport. You most likely won't be good that first time you play basketball and I feel that being a werewolf is kkind of similar.**_

 _ **Next chapter is the First task so it should be a fun one.**_

 _ **As always, Thanks for reading!**_


	11. The First Task

Chapter 11: The First Task

Harry entered the Champion's tent and was greeted by the sight of the three other champions already inside. The first thing he noticed was Cedric pacing back and forth towards the middle of the tent, his face as white as a ghost. He understood the older champion's but knew that the extra nerves of knowing what was waiting for them outside the tent was a much better prospect than him being the only one without any idea about the dragons. Cedric looked up and saw Harry's glance at him, before dipping his head in a slight nod before returning to his pacing.

Next, Harry's gaze fell on the Durmstrang champion, only to notice that Krum was already looking his way. There was a certain determination about his stare which made Harry slightly more nervous but figured it was just the professional Quidditch player's competitive side coming out.

Harry also noticed that did not appear to be as nervous as Cedric or he himself was. Harry had heard the stories of Durmstrang teaching darker magic at their school, but he couldn't imagine that anything that Krum could've learned would be extra helpful against a nesting dragon.

Lastly, his eyes fell upon Fleur. No other person in the castle confused him as much as Fleur Delacour, except maybe Ron. Harry had initially been put off by her "leetle boy" comment but had eventually gotten over it when he realized that he was indeed over his head when it came to the tournament.

What confused him the most, was the behavior of the Beauxbatons champion. A few times during meals in the Great Hall or when happening upon her in a corridor, he would catch her staring at him with an unknown expression on her face. Even more interesting, was her attitude when they would rarely converse with each other. To Harry, it seemed as though she wasn't sure whether or not to dislike him, be indifferent towards him, or be nice to him as her demeanor seemed to change with every interaction. Even now, she had her critical gaze directed at him, as if she was judging him on his actions.

He decided to let the matter drop and began gazing around the rest of the tent. He noticed a few chairs scattered around the tent for the champions to sit on and the occasional table which had a few small morsels to eat. The size of the tent he noticed, was much bigger than it looked on the outside, having obviously been enchanted like the Weasley's tent from the World Cup. It wasn't until he heard a whisper coming from the edge of the tent, that he noticed the shadow of a person on the outside, and decided to head towards it.

"Harry? Is that you?"

Hermione. Of course it was her. She was probably the only person more stressed out than he was about the whole tournament. They had practiced the Summoning Charm every day since Professor Moody had given Harry the hint about how to handle his dragon. Hermione had continually tried to convince him that the plan would work, but still an inclining of doubt she inhabited Harry's mind.

"Yeah."

"How are you feeling?" Harry simply stayed silent, hoping that she would get the hint that he was extremely nervous.

"Remember all the training we've done. You've just got to concentrate. All you need to do then is-"

"Battle a dragon," he said cutting her off. If this was her way of trying to make him less nervous, she wasn't helping.

He suddenly saw the tent flap being frantically pulled back before seeing Hermione launch herself at him into one of her trademark fierce hugs. He could tell that she was trying to put all her reassurance into the hug and he immediately returned it, before the flash of a camera bulb caught their attention.

"Young love. How very… stirring," came the voice of Rita Skeeter as the two disentangled themselves from each other. The reporter looked ready to pounce before Krum insisted she leave the tent. Shortly after that, Hermione decided that it was best that she head back to the stands but not before thanking Krum and wishing Harry luck one last time. As she left, Harry noticed that Krum's gaze followed her out, and that his expression became much sourer after having seen Harry and Hermione together.

"A fan girl coming to wish you luck?"

Harry turned around to see that it was Fleur who spoke, once again looking at him with a critical eye.

"No, that was just my friend Hermione. She just thought I'd be nervous so she came to try and help me calm down a bit."

"You do not look very nervous _Monsieur_ Potter."

"Oh I'm terrified. I have no clue if I'll even be able to beat a dragon."

Her eyebrows raised up as she was caught off guard by his declaration. "So you know about ze dragons?"

"Yes and I know that you and Krum both knew about it as well, which is why I told Cedric about them."

This only appeared to increase Fleur's confusion further. "You told him about the dragons?" Harry nodded at her, and gave her an incredulous look. "Why would you tell your competition?"

Harry let out an exasperated sigh. He knew where this conversation was going. "Look. I know you don't believe me but I never wanted to be in this bloody tournament."

"You are right _monsieur_ , I don't believe you. All ze stories I 'ave 'eard about you and your adventures means that you want all the attention for yourself."

"Well I guess you wouldn't know what it's like to have everyone against you and to have all these stories told about you." He dropped his head as the truth of what these others at Hogwarts thought of him had hit him like a ton of bricks. If he would've looked up at that moment, he would've seen a brief look of sympathy cross Fleur's face before returning to her previous cold stare.

-HP-

It was several minutes after Krum had exited the tent to face his own dragon, before the roar of the crowd and the voice of Ludo Bagman informed Harry that it was almost his turn.

' _Of course I get the most aggressive of all the dragons. That's just my luck'_ were just some of the thoughts that coursed through his mind as he waited for what seemed to be an eternity for his turn. The odds were definitely not stacked in his favor. Though he wasn't sure of how long it took the older champions to defeat their dragons exactly, he understood that it took a tremendous amount of time, and judging by the noises coming from the crowd, was not easy in the slightest.

"And now may I introduce our final and youngest champion…HARRY POTTER!"

Sighing, he made his way through the entrance of the tent and was immediately blinded by the incoming sunlight. He hadn't realized that the inside of the tent was that dim and was forced to shield his eyes. As his sight adjusted, he peered up at the stands, looking to see any familiar faces.

His gaze immediately fell upon Draco Malfoy and his cronies, who had taken it upon themselves to immediately start heckling him. The looks of utter anticipation unnerved Harry slightly so he continued his gaze around before finally settling on Hermione. She also had an anticipating look on her face,, but it was out of fear for her closest friend. It was a few seconds before he noticed that Ron was standing next to her.

Before that train of thought could continue any further, a movement at the edge of his vision caught his eye, as he was only just able to duck out of the way of an incoming boulder. Whipping his head in the direction of the source, Harry came face to face with his dragon. The first thought that entered his mind was that the miniature that he had back in the tent did not do the great beast enough justice. Said figure made all the dragons look to be a similar size. Having already seen the other dragons previously, he knew that the Horntail had to be at least twice the size of the others.

"Your wand Harry! Your wand!"

Hermione's words reached him an broke him of his fear induced stupor enough for him to pull his wand out

" _Accio Firebolt_ "

Now Harry had to buy time and hope that the spell did indeed work. This was easier said than done as the dragon clawed its way forward and shot a jet of flames at Harry, searing the edges of his robes.

He quickly dodged, slid, and rolled his way from rock to rock, trying to keep the Horntail off balance and get some breathing room, but the dragon would simply lift itself into the air and maneuver for a better angle to attack.

After catapulting himself behind what seemed like the tenth rock, Harry heard a roar and cautiously peered over top the rock. The Hungarian Horntail had started getting annoyed by its prey and took to the air and was coming down nearly on top of him. Harry reacted quickly enough managing to launch himself out of the way.

He had begun to give up hope when familiar whooshing sound of a broom caught his ears. Looking towards the castle, he saw his Firebolt barreling towards him. Seeing this sight, he couldn't stop the sigh from escaping his lips before noticing a small problem.

The broom wasn't slowing down, meaning that it would fly right passed him and he would lose the element of surprise. Throwing caution to the wind, Harry tried to tap into his enhanced agility before leaping off the rock he was currently hiding behind and onto his broom, barely missing the closing jaws of the dragon.

Taking to the air, all Harry's nerves vanished as he was now in his element. The Horntail was just another Quidditch player that he had to outmaneuver, so he resorted to similar tactics. He began taunting the dragon by buzzing around it, hoping it would give chase and leave open the Golden egg. He could vaguely hear the roar of the crowd and commentary of Bagman, but paid it all no mind as he tried to remain focused.

He made for another swoop down towards the nest when he saw the beast's tail coming towards him. Instinctively, he rolled out of the way, but was unable to avoid getting caught in the shoulder by the spikes on the tail. He didn't even acknowledge the pain as the Horntail reared up in annoyance, wanting to get rid of the pest that was aggravating it.

Seeing his chance, Harry forced as much speed as he could into a downward descent towards the nest. As he got increasingly closer, he heard the gasp of the crowd, momentarily taking his eyes off the egg, before a sickening pain overtook his senses and he blacked out.

-HP-

Hermione watched with baited breath as Harry's plan seemed to work out and he began his deep dive towards the egg. Her nerves began increasing tenfold as he grew closer to the Dragon's nest before she saw its great wing began to move. Her and much of the crowd noticed and began to cry out, but they couldn't prevent the wing from sending Harry off of is broom and into the side of the enclosure with a sickening crack.

She was now close to hysterics as she saw her friends limp body laying just twenty meters from the enormous dragon.

"Someone get the Dragon handlers out there!" came the voice of Ludo Bagman, but the dragon seemed to have now turned his attention to the crowd, the loud noises they made enthralling it.

Hermione couldn't take watching any further and buried her head in her hands. ' _If only I could've helped him more. All that studying I was doing to try to help him make it through the tournament and none of it has helped.'_ She heard a gasp come from next to her and felt a hand start to roughly nudge her to get her attention.

Looking up she saw Ron with a horrified look on his face, pointing back into the arena. She didn't want to see what could possibly have scared him so much, but she forced her head to turn, before gasping just as loudly as Ron had.

Down in the arena they saw that Harry was now on his hands and knees. How he'd found the strength to get up off the ground was beyond her but here he was, making his way back to his feet with an almost absent look on his face. It seemed natural to her that after a hit like that, Harry would be out of it. That was until he lifted his head up and she got a good look at his eyes.

His eyes were glowing, faintly enough that if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't even notice. His ragged breath was just another telling sign that Harry's control had slipped and now the beast inside was unleashed.

Sensing that its former prey was up again turned about to face him and let out a mighty roar. The two stared each other down briefly, waiting for the other to break the standoff. A few moments later the dragon got tired of waiting and let out another roar, signaling its attack. At the same time, Harry opened his mouth to roar, the dragon's roar drowning out the sound of his, and charged forward towards the dragon.

A stream of flame exited its mouth, flying straight for the Boy-Who-Lived, but it was easily sidestepped, Harry not losing his stride and continued forward. Changing tactics, the Horntail whipped around to use its tail as a bludgeoning weapon, but that too was dodged with little to no exertion.

Hermione could only watch in fear as Harry neared the dragon's snout, showing no sign that he was afraid or slowing down in the slightest. She gasped when the dragon moved its head forward and attempted to devour Harry. He simply jumped into the air as the bite came forward, landing on the dragon's head, then starting to run down its length.

Finally, in a show of swiftness that no one was aware he possessed, Harry slid down the hind legs of the great beast, jutting underneath it and grabbing the egg, before making a swift get away towards the exit. He was almost out before the crowd finally grasped that he had accomplished his task and gave him a round of thunderous applause.

Hermione only had her sights set on Harry. Hurrying towards the medical tent, with Ron in tow, she found Harry standing in solitude, his eyes unseeing. She took a few tentative steps forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry?"

As if he was waiting for some kind of cue, Harry immediately passed out and fell to the crowd with a loud thump, causing Hermione, Madam Pomfrey, and many other teachers to rush forward to assist him.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hey long time no see. Sorry about the two weeks of radio silence, the only excuse I have is that The Taken King came out and that has ruled my life for that period of time. I hope to try to get back up to two updates a week or at the very least once a week.**_

 _ **I've been eager to get to this chapter since the very beginning of this fic so I hope it is satisfactory. After this, the meta-plot of this story should really get going here soon.**_

 _ **As always, Thanks for Reading.**_


	12. Letting Loose

Chapter 12: Letting Loose

The first thing Harry became aware of when conscious thought came back to him, was a familiar softness along his backside that felt familiar. He quickly realized that he was lying in a bed in the hospital wing and that he had been here for a while, if the stiffness in his muscles were any indication.

Wracking his brain to try and remember how he ended up in the infirmary for the fourth time in six months, he dreaded the telling off he would receive from Hermione when she realized he was awake.

Resigning himself to his fate, he slowly began to open his eyes, when his vision was further obscured by a mass of bushy hair.

"Harry, thank goodness you're alright!"

"Easy Hermione," he forced out, her sudden movement and collision with him, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his nerves. She gasped, realizing her mistake.

"I'm sorry Harry. It's just that… you've been out for a while"

"How long?"

She seemed to not want to look at him, but the determination in his eyes withered her apprehension away. "A little over a day." His eyes widened at the realization. He closed them once again to try and remember what happened. He remember entering the enclosure summoning his broom, and dodging the dragon but all afterwards was a blank.

"What happened yesterday Hermione?" The look in her eyes made it look like she was about to lose what little composure she had about this whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry Harry. You were knocked off your broom by the dragon," her gaze moved to the floor, her mouth continuing on at light speed. "It's all my fault. I should've helped you more. If I would've found better spells, or spent more time training with you this never would've…" Harry immediately shot forward and wrapped his arms around his flustered best friend.

"It's okay Hermione. I would've have done even nearly as good as if it wasn't for you." As he continued to hold on to her, he couldn't help but notice the warm feeling he got from holding her. Deciding it was time to pull back, it seemed that she had felt the same thing if the reddening of her cheeks were any indication. Setting that aside, in a casual a tone as possible, he continued on. "So how badly did I lose?"

Those words triggered another anxious look from Hermione, one that had a mixture of apprehension and possibly even fear. "That's just it Harry, you didn't lose. In fact, you scored the highest out of all the other champions."

"How's that even possible?" To say he was surprised was a massive understatement. If the sounds of the crowd and Bagman's commentary, he assumed that all the champions had claimed their eggs, yet he had failed to do so. He urged Hermione forward with a look, but could tell that she was nervous about what she was about to reveal.

"After you fell…I assumed that you were hurt so I couldn't watch anymore. It wasn't until Ro-some else saw you get back up that I looked again too," Still puzzled, Harry saw her prepare herself for what he assumed was what was troubling her. "Harry…you partially transformed."

He gasped. Had he transformed in front of the huge crowd. What if his secret was out and would now be forced to leave Hogwarts just like Lupin. Seeing him start to fold into himself, she continued with her story.

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone noticed, as the crowd was cheering the second you were back up. You then charged the dragon and managed to dodge everything the dragon threw at you and got your egg."

He sighed in relief as the news that his condition was still a secret made him feel slightly more at ease. The fact that he had accidently transformed without his knowledge did disturb him a little and he resolved to contact Moony later to try and figure out the reason for it.

"Harry?"

Harry was surprised by the new voice in the conversation and shifted his gaze passed Hermione to see Ron, standing there, looking a bit uncomfortable. Harry peered at Hermione skeptically for a moment, a nod from her being all the reassurance he needed. "Ron."

The sharpness of his tone caused the red head to recoil slightly but he remained where he was.

"I reckon you'd have to be barking mad to put your name in."

"Took you long enough." Harry was still very frustrated by the treatment of his first friend. He wanted to stay mad at Ron but he knew that all he wanted was his best friend back, and even though he knew that all would be forgiven, he wouldn't make it easy.

"Yeah I hoped we would patch things up after I told you about the dragons."

"No Hagrid told me about the dragons."

"Wait don't you remember? I said that Seamus told me that Pavarti told Dean, that Hagrid was looking for you. Well Seamus never told me anything. I hoped that when you figured out it was me we could patch things up."

Harry couldn't hold in his laugh any longer and smiled at his friend. "How could anyone figure that out? It's completely mental."

Ron made his way over to give Harry and one armed hug, the only sound in the room coming from their other friend.

"Boys."

-HP-

The days following the First Task weren't as relaxing as Harry would've hoped. In fact, it seemed that the days were more stressful than ever.

First and foremost was the mystery of the golden egg. He knew that the egg contained a clue that was essential for completing the Second Task. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. All the thing did was screech loudly when he would open it up which caused him a lot of pain because of his enhanced senses. He tried to avoid opening it as much as possible, yet it seemed that opening it was the only way to solve it.

Second was the ever changing treatment he received from the Beauxbaton champion. If she was an enigma before the First Task, her behavior was even more bizarre since. Not that their interactions changed too much, as she still seemed unsure of what to think about him. What really caught his attention was the looks she gave him during random times that they happened upon the same area. Harry would catch her looking at him when someone would accost him in the halls, with something that resembled…sympathy. He couldn't place the look and it only perplexed him further.

The last thing that was getting to him was the familiar feeling of being too small in his skin. He hadn't felt like this since before his first transformation and the feeling was getting to him. Why this feeling had returned along with the impulsiveness eluded him.

What was worse was the decision to keep this from Hermione. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he would trust her with his life, and had already done that many times this year alone. He simply didn't want her to worry about him further, until he figured out what he could do about this.

His thoughts resolved around possible reasons and solutions for these new developments as he made his way with Ron and Hermione to McGonagall's classroom. A Gryffindor House meeting was called and such a occurrence usually was a sign of bad news.

Taking their seats around the outskirts of the room, they waited for their Head of House to begin with the meeting.

"As you're all aware, you were asked to purchase dress robes for your wardrobe this year." At the confirming nods from her house she continued. "It is tradition during the Triwizard tournament for the hosting school to host the Yule Ball, a dance."

Harry's face paled at this revelation. He had no clue how to dance and the thought of having to do it with the entire school present terrified him. But as fate would have it, the worst news was yet to come.

"It is also customary for the three champions, in this case four," she added moving her eyes to Harry briefly before continuing, "to begin the festivities by dancing with their partners."

If McGonagall had said anything else, Harry didn't hear it. His mind was trying to wrap around the potential embarrassment of being in the spotlight in front of all three schools. It took several minutes before the professor's voice penetrated his thoughts once more.

"I will be offering dancing lessons for any student who wishes to better themselves before the ball on Christmas Eve." His eyes lit up at that, now gaining some hope that the night could potentially turn out okay. All that was left was for him to determine who he would end up asking to the ball. The more he wracked his brain and sorted through every girl he knew, only one name kept coming up.

Hermione.

-HP-

The night of the Yule Ball was approaching fast, only two weeks last before the night that was anticipated with equal amounts of excitement as dread. Many people already had dates, while others hadn't gotten up the courage to ask anyone yet.

One of the individuals without a date to the ball yet, was one Hermione Granger. It wasn't for a lack of anyone asking her. In fact she had been asked by two individuals thus far, Neville Longbottom and Viktor Krum.

She had been asked first by Krum which had come as a shock to her. She had seen him in the library many times and was caught off guard when he approached her the day before asking her if she wanted to go to the ball with him. She wasn't the usual kind of girl that was usually around Krum and was confused at his asking her. All she could say was that she would think about it and give him a definitive answer soon.

Next had been Neville earlier that day, after she had helped him during Potions class that day. She could tell he was a nervous wreck and thought that the notion was sweet but also politely declined his invitation.

If she was honest with herself, she was hoping Harry would ask her. Her reasoning was partly because if she went with Harry, then there wouldn't be any preconceived notion that the outing would be anymore that two friends attending a dance together. She despised how many of the girls around the castle were fretting terribly about whether or not they'd have a date in time for the ball.

The other reason was her confusion towards her friend Harry. When he work up in the hospital wing after his encounter with the dragon and hugged her, she couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her body. She initially dismissed it to her being worried about her best friend and her happiness that he was okay but now she felt she couldn't be sure.

She had been sitting in her favorite chair in the common room, contemplating how to broach the subject to Harry, when he and a number of other Gryffindors climbed through the porthole, a dumbfounded Ron being supported by them.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"He just asked Fleur Delacour to the ball."

She gasped and looked at her befuddled friend. "And she turned him down?"

The shaking of Ron's head had caught her off guard.

"She said yes." It was half a question and half a statement. To say that she couldn't believe if that was true was an understatement. Not that she didn't think highly of Ron. Though her friend was far from perfect, she knew that he would eventually be a great man one day. It was more of the fact that the high profile Fleur Delacour said yes.

"No. I saw her walking and I just up and asked her…"

"Shouted it actually," quipped a slightly amused Ginny.

"So I did the only thing I could do, I ran."

Hermione felt bad for Ron. She knew that his self-esteem was low, if his behavior towards Harry weeks before was any indication. In any other situation, she would've thought that he would've done something irrational because of his frustration.

"Say Hermione, you're a girl."

There it was. Despite herself she found herself slowly getting heated by the direction that the conversation going.

"Nice of you to notice Ronald."

"I'm just saying that you don't have a date, so you could go with mme."

"And what akes you think I cn't get a date."

"Oh come off it. We both know you just turned down Neville to be nice- No offense mate- so why can't you just go with me?"

Hermione was livid now, her mouth going off without much thought behind her words.

"I'll have you know that someone did ask me to the ball." At that she made a very quick decision, rejecting the voice in her head that told her to cool off she continued. "And I've said yes."

With that, she stormed off out of the common room, to go find Krum in the library and tell him that she had made her decision. In her haste to leave she failed to hear the voice of Harry as he attempted to follow after her, and she didn't see Fleur Delacour heading the opposite direction, a determined look on her face.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **I know that not that much exciting stuff happened in this chapter but I wanted the story to move forward. The Yule Ball will be next and we'll get hints as to what is wrong with Harry and we'll see relationships begin to flourish more.**_


	13. Yule Ball

Chapter 13: Yule Ball

After getting his dress robes on, Harry made his way down to the Great Hall to meet up with his date. He had to stop and wait for the stairs at the staircase and decided to recount the events of the last month.

After learning that Hermione had already been asked to the ball, he lamented having to find a date. It wasn't that there was a lack of girls willing to go with him, there were honestly a lot of girls who had asked him before and after he tried to ask Hermione. He would've said ye but all of the ones who asked him wanted to go with the Bo-Who-Lived, not Harry, which only unsettled him. He hated all the hero worship but it had seemed that there was very little chance in anyone looking past his fame. He felt lucky that he had found someone who understood his apprehension.

His thoughts turned to Hermione and how he had wished that he would've drawn up the courage to ask her to the ball. What was confusing was that he was only going to ask her as a friend but he found himself becoming nervous at the idea of asking her. He was worried about having a date that wasn't looking for anything serious. He had hoped that Hermione would understand that and go with him and found his anger was rising.

Passing a window, he eyed the moon high in the sky and abolished those thoughts. He knew that Hermione wasn't obligated to go with him and started feeling morose about even getting upset over such a thing. He knew that the moon was effecting him, the full moon rising in a few days as it were, but he still found it difficult to differentiate natural thought from his instinct driven ones. He now knew why he was overly-feeling the moon's effects but he was far from accepting it.

He finally arrived at his destination, situating himself away from the majority of the crowd and began looking around for his date. His search was interrupted as his gaze moved across the staircase, where he was floored by what he saw.

-HP-

Hermione made her way down the staircase in the Great Hall and was immediately made aware of the fact that everyone's attention was directed at her. The many stares were starting to get to her almost leading to turn around and run back to her dormitory. Upon closer inspection, she began to realize that they weren't looking at her in a negative way, in fact many of the faces couldn't believe who they were looking at.

Pride began to well up inside her as all her preparations weren't for nothing. She had decided in the weeks between accepting Viktor's invitation and the ball that she would try to look her best, not only so that people wouldn't look at her and her date scathingly but more importantly, herself. Hours of attempting to straighten her hair and applying an ample amount of make-up seemed to not be in vain.

Seeing that Viktor hadn't made it yet, she gauged all the reactions around the room. Among some of them was Malfoy sporting a bewildered expression on his face, and Pansy Parkinson with an equally evident look of jealousy. Lavender and Pavarti seemed to be in shock, or maybe in awe of her transformation, only adding to her boosted confidence.

The longer she looked, the more she noticed that her two best friends weren't present. Ron had left earlier to meet up with Padma, so she determined that he was already inside the Great Hall with a majority of attendees. Despite their recent disagreement, she was happy that Harry had helped him find a date so he wouldn't suffer the embarrassment of not having one.

Then her eyes found Harry, shifting nervously in the corner of the Great Hall. She smiled at the action, knowing that he would try to avoid any attention that might come his way. He hadn't noticed her yet, so she started to slowly make her way down the steps again, until she saw him begin to turn around.

The look on his face when he finally saw her caused the warm feeling to spread through her body just like when he hugged her. His jaw visibly dropped to the point where she was nearly worried that he might've dislocated it. His green eyes gave the impression of slight awe at her appearance but it lacked any sort of surprise, as if he wasn't surprised.

She smiled down shyly at him and began to take in his appearance as well. She admitted to herself that he looked good in is dress robes and a brief pang of guilt ran through her body. She wondered if he would've asked her if she wouldn't have said yes to Viktor.

Hermione decided to at least to say hi to him when she saw both Viktor and Fleur Delacour entering the hall. Viktor began to make her way to her as Fleur was striding across the hall, causing Hermione to wonder who she was accompanying to the ball.

Her question was answered soon after, as she stopped right next to Harry, and took his offered arm. A brief scowl crossed Hermione's face which she quickly suppressed, but not fast enough to escape Harry's notice. His questioning loo caused her to falter slightly, she only mouthed later as she took Viktor's arm before the Champions entered the hall.

-HP-

The Yule Ball was a far more enjoyable experience than Harry had initially anticipated. His fear of dancing was overcome due to his dance lessons with Professor McGonagall. He found that he actually found the activity enjoyable and that he was quite good at it, the only person overshadowing his prowess surprisingly was Neville who also had participated in his lessons.

He had his reservations about going to the ball with Fleur but most of them were unfounded. The fellow champion was obviously enjoying herself, but Harry convinced himself that anyone who like himself, wasn't affected by her appearance would be able to reach the same result. The only thing was that there wasn't anyone else who could resist her allure to the same success as Harry.

Even though she seemed relieved at having such a good time, Harry could still tell that she was still sizing him up. When they weren't dancing, she would ask him about his classes, friends, and about some of the stories she had heard from other students. The surprise at his humbleness was evident on her face and instead of being annoyed like he normally would, he found it entertaining.

It was after one of their dances that Harry chanced a glance over in Hermione's direction. He saw her a few tables away talking to Krum. She appearing to enjoy herself, but Harry noticed that something was up. After knowing her for so many years, he could tell that even though she was genuinely enjoying herself, something was still eating away at her.

Looking to Fleur, he saw that her eyes were already on her. Feeling ashamed that he wasn't paying attention to his own date, he attempted to apologize.

"It iz okay 'Arry. Why don't you go ask 'er to dance?"

Taken aback by her comment, he righted himself before questioning her.

"Are you sure Fleur? I don't want to make it seem that like I don't enjoy your Company."

She laughed at his awkwardness. "You 'ave been a wonderful date Monsieur Potter. I don't mind if you go dance wiz someone else."

Nodding his head, Harry made his way over to Hermione. It took a few moments for her to notice his approach, and he seemed to think that her smile got slightly bigger when she finally did notice her.

"I was wondering if you would like a dance, milady?" The chuckle that came from her confirmed that his attempt at humor was successful as she accepted his hand and followed him out to the dance floor.

Once there, the song changed and the band began to play a slow song, much to the embarrassment of the two teens. Resigning that there wasn't any other choice they wrapped their arms around each other. Swaying slowly to the music, Harry noticed that the warm feeling returned but was unaware that the girl in his arms was currently experiencing the same thing.

It was nice dancing with Hermione and even though he tried to resist it, he began comparing his dances with Fleur to this one. This one felt a lot more special than any of his dances with Fleur but he reasoned that it was because they had avoided all slow dances so far that night, not wanting to experience the awkwardness of it, but with Hermione, he had no reservations.

"Are you having a good time at the ball?"

The question came out of nowhere and startled Harry slightly. The resentment returned in full force but he didn't want to lash out at Hermione, she was only looking out for him as a friend.

"Yeah, Fleur's been great. She asked me a few weeks back because she wanted to go with someone who didn't want to go with her because of her heritage which I completely understand." He paused his explanation weighing his next words carefully. He wanted to bring up the fact that Fleur wasn't his first choice of date but didn't want to hamper her good mood.

He did see a brief flash of guilt cross her face, but decided not to push it any further as the song began to die down. Pulling apart, an awkward silence descended between the two as neither knew exactly what to say.

"Thank you for the dance Harry."

"It was my pleasure Hermione. Now I think it's time to return to our dates." Breaking the awkwardness Harry tentatively stepped forward to offer her a brief hug, catching her off guard. After pulling away, they smiled at each other before heading back towards the tables together. Seeing Fleur smiling at him, he offered his hand to her as well, but stopped when he noticed that Krum and Hermione were standing up to leave. He made sure to wish them a good night before returning to dancefloor with his date,

"Zat waz a nice zing you did for 'er 'Arry."

"It waz nothing. I felt like I should've danced with her at least once."

"Still, zat was a very sweet of you to do zat. She is lucky to be friends with such a caring friend."

Harry felt his cheeks heat up at her compliment and he briefly thought he detected another warm flush course though his body. It was after this that he realized that they were dancing to another slow song and became aware of their close proximity. He wasn't sure about hi date, but the awkwardness that they had anticipated was definitely there, but it wasn't as pronounced as he would have thought.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a person stand up suddenly and head towards the exit. A blur of red hair and an irate Padma storming off was all the confirmation Harry needed that his other best friend was storming off. Wondering what would cause such a reaction from Ron, Harry remembered that Hermione and Krum had passed closely by Ron and he immediately feared for the worst.

"Excuse me but I have to go." Not really giving her a chance to retort, he quickly made his way towards the exit.

-HP-

Fleur was caught off guard by Harry sudden dismissal and decided to follow him to see what was up. As she neared the doors leading to the Great Hall, a large mob of students blocked her oath, slowing her down significantly. She nudged and maneuvered her way through the crowd, the sounds of someone shouting becoming louder the closer she came to the door.

Once out it the hall she continued up the hallway towards the exit to the grounds when she saw the girl she knew from Harry as Hermione arguing with Harry's other friend. Determining that it was the tail end of the shouting match, Fleur decided that it was best that she hide herself behind a suit of armor and wait to see how things played out. One final shout from Hermione sent the red head skulking away. Listening intently she became aware if the sound of someone sobbing. She almost made her way out from her hiding spot when a voice caught her attention.

"Hermione?"

The blazing row had taken up all of her attention so she figured that Harry was also somewhere nearby waiting for the flames to settle. She could hear the worry in his voice and allowed herself to peak out at the scene in front her.

Harry approached the girl and offered an arm around her shoulder. For her part tried to hide the evidence of her tears but she couldn't shake the worrying Harry off.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Harry." Her voice sounded anything but, causing Fleur to wonder if she was trying to convince Harry or herself.

"You don't sound fine Hermione. Why don't you talk to me about it?"

Cracking underneath his concern, she relented and began to open up. "Oh it's just Ron and his insensitivity." Harry gave her a look that urged her forward. "He was angry at me for coming to the ball with Krum instead of him, saying things like I was 'fraternizing with the enemy'" Fleur could tell even from a distance that her face showed equal amount of disdain as in her voice during that last statement.

"That's completely mental."

"That's what I said. He's the one who was going on and on about wanting his autograph all year and I'm the traitor." She was getting far angrier now, as she stood up and began pacing in front of the bench that they were previously sitting on. Her anger though seemed to dissipate completely as her mind appeared to contemplate something further.

"That's not even what hurt the most. He said that I only made myself look nice because I wanted to impress Viktor, and…" she seemed to fight the urge to not continue further, but another deep breath calmed her down enough to press on, "he said that I was betraying you." The tears were back in full force as Hermione made to run away, but was caught up in a sudden hug by Harry.

"I don't think you going with Krum was a betrayal. I'm just happy that you found someone to go with who would have a good time with." The smile that he gave her caused Hermione's tears to stop flowing and brought a huge smile to Fleur's unseen face. "Besides I know that you dressed yourself up more for yourself than Krum, even though I think it wasn't necessary."

The words confused Fleur briefly, but it was nothing compared to the confusion on Hermione's face. "Thank you Harry" was all she could choke out before finding herself in another hug from Harry. Thanking him one more time, Hermione turned and began to head her way back towards were Fleur assumed was the Gryffindor Tower. Deciding that it was now safe to come out, Fleur made her way towards her date.

"Zere you are 'Arry. I waz wondering where you went off to."

Harry began rubbing his neck, his bashfulness showing in full force and Fleur couldn't help but smile at his expense.

"I'm sorry for running off Fleur. There was something I needed to take care of."

"You 'ave nozzing to be sorry for. You 'ave made this a wonderful night, I could not ask for a better one." She saw relief cross his face and it only endeared him even more to Fleur. The selflessness that he showed his friend was all the assurance that she needed to know that Harry was who he claimed he was, she couldn't fault him for that. "I zink it is time to turn in for ze night 'Arry. I 'ad a lovely time." She offered her hand as a sign of goodwill towards him. He took her hand and smiled at her.

"I had a great time as well Fleur. I hope that we can become friends after all of this."

"I would like zat." The smile that her face was hopefully a sign that she was generous about that admission. He then surprised her by kissing the back of her hand.

"Goodnight Fleur." Feeling brave, she stepped forward and tentatively kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight "Arry." She turned around began to make her way towards the Beauxbatons carriage, leaving a very confused Harry in her wake.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Here's the Yule Ball guys. I really tried to do the ball justice while trying to do it differently than I've seen it usually done. Hopefully you guys like the direction that I took this scene, as well as where the story is going. I'm going to be leaving more clues as to what is wrong with Harry but it will still be a few chapters before the reveal.**_

 _ **I saw in a review that someone thought I was sticking too close to canon and I wanted to address that. The story will get progressively more AU as it goes on. The Goblet of Fire will be slightly AU, whereas OotP will be about half based off of canon AU, and finally HBP will be mostly AU with a few plot points from the book surviving.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading.**_


	14. Hold at All Costs

Chapter 14: Hold at All Costs

"Thanks for the tip Cedric."

Harry watched the older boy walk away, wondering if the help he offered was sincere or not. Cedric seemed like a genuine like-able guy, the ideal image of what a Hufflepuff should look like. Harry couldn't help but feel skeptical about his intentions because of the older champion's drive to win. He even had to admit that even though he was over his crush with Cho Chang, her dating Cedric was still a sore spot for Harry.

Regardless, he decided that he would broach the subject with Ron and Hermione, which was another challenge in and of itself. After their spat at the Yule Ball, both of his best friends had been avoiding each other. It was true that they weren't as hostile as they would normally get, but the aversion was still something that grated Harry's already stressed nerves.

The end of January brought forth two things that caused two conflicting feelings inside Harry. First off was that the full moon was nearing and there was no relief in sight for the discomfort that came along with it. Unfortunately, his symptoms were not missed by Hermione and he could feel her worrying eyes on him whenever he first entered the same room as her. Deep down he was touched that she cared so much and wanted to look out for him, but at the same time, her attention was somewhat aggravating especially considering that under the moon's effects, he was ultra-sensitive to smells and he could practically smell the anxiety coming off of her.

On the other side of the spectrum was that the second match of the interschool Quidditch tournament was later that day, so he was able to focus on the match as an anchor to try and stave off his more basic instincts. Even with Quidditch practice occupying a lot of his free time, the frequency of it added to the stress, so being able to just watch a game was a breath of fresh air.

As he moved along the corridors of the castle, he caught the familiar scent of his bookworm best friend. He was able to pick out her natural smell very easily due to their increased time together and was able to determine that it wasn't coming from the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Following it, he figured that there was only one other place that Hermione could be. The Library.

-HP-

"Hey Hermione."

Hermione looked over the pile of books currently in her arms and saw the source of this voice heading her way.

"Hello Harry. Would you mind helping me with som-"

Her words were cut off when she accidently stepped on a random piece of parchment and lost her footing, sending all of her books into the air. Harry reacted quickly and caught her around the waist and managed to catch all her books with the other hand.

"Wow. Thanks Harry."

"Don't mention it." It was after a moment or two that he realized that his arm was still around her waist and removed it as if he had been burned. Her brow furrowed as he turned around and headed towards their usual table. Harry had been acting strangely around her ever since the Yule Ball. She immediately feared that maybe he didn't mean the kind things he said that night and felt weird around her.

She hoped he didn't.

What he said to her that night were the nicest things that anyone had ever said to her. Even though she had a wonderful time with Viktor, the confrontation with Ron had spoiled the evening, almost completely ruining it. If it wasn't for Harry's intervention, the night would have neem a total bust. She was unsure of how that night effected their relationship or even how to approach talking with Harry about.

As soon as the thought returned to her head, she banished it as quickly as it had manifested. Harry didn't need any sort of distraction this year because of the tournament. She decided to resolve the issue as soon as their fourth was over.

She suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn't moved yet, and had simply been watching Harry as he set the books on the table, and took a seat waiting for her to join him. Blushing slightly, she made way towards the table and began conversing idly with Harry. Things were going well until Harry's lessons with Remus were brought up.

"How are your lessons with Lupin going?"

"They're going good. We're making good progress." She had noticed a brief look of guilt cross his face before it was replaced with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Harry, you know that if something is up you can talk to me right?"

"Everything's fine Hermione." Even though he did his best to hide it, she picked on the hint of aggravation in his voice. Shed decided to change the subject to the upcoming Quidditch match.

"Are you excited for the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons match later?"

His demeanor immediately improved. "Definitely. I can't wait to check out the competition." It made her smile that even with such a daunting task ahead of him, that Harry could still find something in the world that could bring him joy. They continued to sit together until it was time for them to head down to the Quidditch pitch for the match.

-HP-

The match had gone exactly how many of those in attendance thought it would. The Durmstrang team completely dominated the other team partially because they had the world's greatest seeker, but also because the team was just outright better. The match was over in less than 15 minutes, Krum catching the snitch to make the score 280 to 30.

Harry and Hermione made their way back to the common room where they found Ron going on about how well Krum had performed. Hermione didn't even want to conceal the scoff that escaped her lips. Ron looked like he wanted to say something but Harry deflected the potential argument by motioning towards their usual spot in front of the fire.

"Enough you two. I've got something that I've got to tell you." That got her attention and it appeared that it go Ron too. They took their seat and waited for Harry to continue.

"Cedric approached me earlier and told me to take a bath with my egg." Confusion settled on all of the trio's faces. What could that hint possibly mean? Hermione simply couldn't determine what that would solve.

Ron was the first person to find his voice. "Well that's completely mental. He's probably just trying to trick you Harry and hope you don't figure out the clue."

"Honestly Ron, do you think that low of Cedric. He probably wants to repay Harry for telling him about the dragons."

"I still don't understand why you would do that mate."

"Well either way, I plan on using the Prefect's bathroom. Cedric told me the password and I'll see if I can figure this out."

Hermione nodded her head in acceptance of this and Ron did the same albeit with a bit more hesitation. Ron then broached the subject of the next match in the Quidditch tournament.

"You excited to play against Krum Harry?"

"I'm already facing off against him Ron. Remember, there's this tournament going on…" The look on Ron's face showed that he clearly wasn't amused by Harry's antics. "Yes Ron playing Quidditch against him should be fun."

"How are you going to beat him Harry? He's the best in the world!"

"I think I should be able to handle myself." Harry allowed his eyes to flash briefly, the meaning of such a display was not lost on his two best friends.

"I don't think that's a good idea Harry?" The incredulous look that Harry gave Hermione would've been laughable if she didn't think that this was a serious conversation. It was also a necessary one she thought, she'd been trying to find a way to talk about it ever since the First Task.

"What do you mean Hermione?"

"Listen Harry, I know you're not going to like what I'm saying, but you shouldn't use your powers to win a competition."

Harry's face started contorting in anger at those words. "What!? How can you say that Hermione? What about the tournament?"

"That's different Harry. The tasks could be a matter of life and death. The most important thing is for you to survive." She smiled at Harry trying to reassure him that she only meant good. His face did relax slightly, but the anger was still present. "I think however, that using them in Quidditch isn't fair for other people."

Ron now had a similar look of outrage on his face, which only seemed to fuel Harry's anger further. "What if he can't help it?"

"He needs to learn control!"

At the word control, that familiar flash of guilt crossed Harry's face before his previous demeanor returned. He stood up very suddenly and seemed to try to look anywhere besides in her direction.

"I'm going to get the egg and try and figure out the clue. I'll see you guys around." He then made a B-line towards the dormitory, leaving a startled Ron and Hermione behind.

"Good going Hermione. Don't you think he has enough on his plate without you breathing down his neck?"

Hermione had the sense to look ashamed at that admission. She had forgotten that Harry's affliction wasn't something that he could switch on or off. At least not yet. Stressing him out while he had to deal with the tournament only seemed to be counter-productive.

"I…I didn't mean to be overbearing."

"Well serves you right."

Hermione's anger reared in full force again, now completely directed towards Ron now. "I've done nothing to deserve you treating me like this accept for caring about Harry. And besides, you only egged him on just like with the broom last year."

"Don't try to blame this on me. If you knew when to keep mind your own business we wouldn't be havin-"

He suddenly stopped when he saw Harry return from the boy's dorm, Hermione turned around hoping to apologize to him, but he continued his stride passed them and out into the corridor.

-HP-

After figuring out the clue, Harry spent hours of each day since in the library with Ron and Hermione. The issue of Harry's abilities hadn't been addressed since the heated conversation, but they had all reached an agreement to forget about it.

"Come on Harry! We need to keep looking." Though she was trying to remain optimistic, Harry could tell that the lack of results for her search was weighing on her as well. With only a little less than 24 hours until the task, they had only found one useful spell in all the tomes they searched.

"Well besides the Bubblehead Charm, which I can't even conjure for 10 minutes let alone an hour, nothing in any of these books is in any way useful." He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Hermione standing there, looking at him reassuringly with Ron mirroring that look a few feet back.

"We'll find something Harry. You can do this." Harry appreciated the sentiment and turned back into the advanced charm book for answers.

After another hour of searching, they were approached by Neville. "Hey guys. What are you guys up to?"

"Looking for something to help Harry with the Second Task."

"Okay, what are you looking for?"

Harry answered this time. "Something that will allow me to breathe underwater for an hour."

Neville pondered that for a moment, before his eyes widened in realization. "You know, you could always use Gilly weed." Hermione's eyes widened as well at this, before rushing forward and hugging Neville.

"Neville that's brilliant. Thank you." She pounded deeper into the library before anyone could get a word in edge wise. When she returned, Neville had already left leaving just Harry and Ron behind. They found the page about Gilly weed and Hermione read the entry out loud.

"Gilly weed, is a magical plant that allows the eater to grow gills for one hour and also provides them with webbed hands and feet." She paused after this when she read something that could complicate things further. Harry eyed her warily, until she looked up and met his eyes. "Caution should be used by anyone with non-human blood. This could cause complications with the transformation." Hermione and Ron simply looked at Harry, allowing him to make the final decision on what he was going to do.

In truth, Harry didn't know what to do. The book was vague about what would happen if he ate the plant, but did he have much of a choice? After about a minute of thinking it over he decided.

"I think we should keeping looking for any other answers. We should keep the Gilly weed in mind if we can't find an alternative."

Before they could dive back into their reading, they noticed Professor McGonagall walking towards them.

"Do you need me for something Professor?"

"No Potter, but I do need to see Mister Weasley and Miss Granger in my office."

Confused as to what she wanted with them, they bid Harry goodbye before following the Transfiguration Professor out of the library. Harry continued to study until it was time for curfew, before heading up to get some sleep before the task the following day.

 _ **Author's Note-**_

 _ **Hey guys hope you liked this chapter. While I was writing it, I knew that I wanted a chapter between the Yule Ball and the Second Task, but it was difficult deciding what I wanted to happen here and what I want to happen a little later.**_

 _ **As always, Thanks for reading!**_


	15. The Second Task

Chapter 15 – The Second Task

The morning of the Second Task, Harry awoke quickly and hurried down to the Common Room to meet up with Ron and Hermione. When he made it down the staircase, he was greeted by an abandoned Common Room. Puzzled that his friends were not waiting for him, he glanced at the clock in the corner of the room.

8:37.

"Where could they be?"

Figuring that they had already made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry quickly left the room and made his way there, hoping for a quick breakfast. He didn't have much time as he had to meet with Moony before the task, to make sure he was prepared for later.

He hated that he had to keep himself in check, but relented when thoughts about the previous task came to the forefront of his mind. He needed to keep in check, he didn't know what he would do if anyone got hurt because of him.

A loud _Crack_ , startled Harry from his thoughts, causing him to lose his balance and land of his back. Rubbing the back of his head where it had made contact with the floor, he looked up and saw two tennis ball sized eyes staring at him.

"Harry Potter sir! Dobby is sorry for scaring yous."

"Don't worry about it Dobby. What do you want?"

Dobby pulled a disgusting looking plant from behind his back and presented to Harry. The smell of it was almost enough to cause Harry to gag, his eyes watering at the sheer force of the scent.

"Dobby heard that Harry Potter sir needed Gillyweed, so Dobby went and got some for him."

"Thanks Dobby." Although he felt sick at what the plant would taste like, Harry was grateful that the elf had managed to get his hands on some. One thing was bothering him though…

"Dobby? Where exactly did you get this from?"

The elf immediately shifted his gaze to the floor, obviously uncomfortable about where this line of questioning was going. "Dobby took it from the Potion Master, sir. Dobby knew he shouldn't have. Dobby is a bad elf!" and before Harry could do anything to stop it, he began bashing his head against the wall.

Grabbing the elf by his cloth, Harry attempted to placate him. "It's okay Dobby, you did good. No need to punish yourself."

"Thank you Harry Potter sir. You are a great wizard." Another resounding _Crack_ radiated through the hall, and Dobby was gone. Harry shook his head in amusement, before continuing his trek down to the Great Hall. Once there he pushed the doors open and started scanning for his two best friends. After a minute or two of looking, it became clear that they weren't there either.

Deciding that he had better head off to meet with Moony, Harry turned from the Great Hall without eating. He did his best to keep himself calm but he couldn't stop the feeling of dread from building up inside him.

-HP-

The crowd around the docks situated in the middle of the Black Lake seemed to be larger than it was for the First Task. Harry figured it was because after all the publicity that came along with four students taking on nesting dragons, that people were curious as to see what the tournament organizers would concoct next. He himself was a little curious, but that feeling was greatly diminished by the fact that Ron and Hermione had still not turned up.

And he had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where they were.

Looking down into the lake, he envisioned every possible terrible outcome that could come from this task. From taking on the giant squid to the Gillyweed not lasting long enough and him drowning somewhere in its dark depths. What scare him the most was though wasn't his safety, but failing to save his friends and them getting hurt because of that.

Willing himself away from such thoughts he gazed at the other champions. Cedric seemed extremely nervous, casting the glance towards the surface of the water while pacing back and forth. Cho was most likely what Cedric would miss most so Harry knew exactly what the older boy was feeling.

Fleur wasn't in any better shape. She even appeared to be worse off, and she seemed unable to stay still for the slightest amount of time, occasionally moving to consult with an older man and woman, who Harry determined were her parents do the resemblance.

Krum however was the complete opposite of the other two. He seemed very calm and collected, as if the thought of diving into the extremely cold water had no effect on him. Harry determined that Krum's hostage was most likely Hermione, and if Harry was completely honest with himself, he wasn't happy about that detail. He didn't want to leave the fate of one of his closest friends to anyone other than himself, but knew he would be vilified as a cheat if he attempted to stop Krum from saving her.

"The Second Task is about to begin!" rang out the amplified voice of Ludo Bagman. "The champions will have one hour to find what has been taken from them. On the count of three. One…Two…Three!"

Once the task began, Harry stuffed the Gillyweed into his mouth and dived straight into the water.

-HP-

Once into the water, Fleur quickly cast a Bubblehead Charm on herself, before finding her bearings so she could rescue her sister Gabrielle. Looking around, she saw both Krum and Cedric heading into a thick patch of kelp, each appearing to be determined to try and out race the other, and sped off towards what she thought was the center of the lake. Turning further, she saw Harry struggling under water, he appeared to be drowning.

She raced to his side to see if he was okay, but by the time she got there, he was no longer struggling and appeared to have somehow grown webbed hands and feet. When he noticed her presence, she gave him a hesitant thumbs up, hoping he would return the gesture. When he did, he pointed to the sides of his neck and Fleur could now see that he now had grown gills, so he could breathe underwater.

She then waved to him and turned towards the kelp to follow the other two champions. She didn't want to leave the younger boy, but she determined that the other two knew where they were going, having seen Krum diving into the lake frequently and Cedric because it was on his school grounds.

Her relationship with Harry had greatly improved since Christmas, Fleur herself becoming much more open and accepting of the boy after watching how he cared for his one friend. She hoped that one day, they could become as good of friends. True she had friends, but most of them were shallow either hoping to leech off of any guys that approached her or hoping to have a chance at her by getting close. Her good friends were very few and far between.

Continuing through the kelp, a large moving body stopped her in her tracks. Coming across the giant squid was definitely something she had wanted to avoid. If the stories she had overheard about from some of the Hogwarts students were any indication, she didn't want to attract its attention and waited for it to pass.

After continuing to swim for what seemed like an eternity, she finally made it to the center of the lake, when four floating forms started to come into focus. She was puzzled at how she had managed to beat all the champions here, but didn't give it another thought as she moved forward. It wasn't until she had gotten halfway there, that she noticed that she in fact wasn't the first champion there.

-HP-

Harry had managed to arrive at where the captives were held at without interruption. How he had managed to not only avoid any grindylows, but the giant squid had seemingly let him pass without any sort of confrontation.

Around the rock where the four bodies were chained, was a large semicircle of armed mermen. Not knowing whether or not they'd let him take his captive without a fight, he approached cautiously towards the two right most individuals, Ron and Hermione.

Next to them Harry recognized Cho Chang and next to her was a small girl with silvery blond hair, who looked no older than nine. Determining her as related to Fleur Harry made his way towards Hermione first, hoping to see whether or not he would be allowed to rescue both of his friends.

He was immediately met by the end of a trident, the merman behind it bellowing, "Only one!" Reluctantly, he backed off but refused to leave before Ron and Hermione was safe.

A noise behind him caused him to whirl around and find Fleur swimming towards him. He briefly wondered how he had managed to beat both her and the other champions despite their head start. He shook the thought out of his head so he could focus on the task at hand.

She paused as she approached and looked at Harry confusingly. Trying to get his point across, he pointed to the small girl and then back where she came from. Fleur began shaking her head refusing to leave before him since he had gotten there first. Pointing more assertively this time, he managed to convince Fleur, who retrieved her sister and swam off.

After 10 more minutes, Harry saw what appeared to be a shark barreling towards him. Acting on instinct, he fired a spell towards it, but it was easily dodged by the creature, offering a full view of it. Its head was of a shark, but the rest of the body was human, with familiar looking red and black shorts. Realizing that it was Krum, he allowed him to get ahold of Hermione and leave with her.

He debated whether or not he wanted to wat for Cedric to arrive and take Cho, but he didn't know what would happen if he didn't make it back before the hour was up. Maybe, he thought, the merpeople had agreed to remain peaceful as long as they were within the time limit. Deciding that he didn't want to wait to find out, he cut Ron loose from his restraints and began to make the long trek back to the docks.

-HP-

 _~Flashback~_

" _Cockroach Clusters"_

 _The gargoyle blocking the entranceway to the Headmaster's office, bounded out of the way allowing Ron and Hermione to enter the office. Hermione was enthralled by the room once she had entered it. The room was filled with all sorts of magical items that filled her eyes with awe. The large collection of books in the study off to the right immediately caught her attention and made her wonder if she could convince Dumbledore to let her read some of the books._

 _It was then that she realized that they weren't the only ones in the office. Of course, there sat Dumbledore behind his desk, his eyes glancing across every face in the room sagely, but Hermione thought she detected a hint of worry hidden deep in his pupils. Next to him, she saw the other two school heads standing off to his right, also looking around the room but the worried looks were absent._

 _Standing off to the opposite side of the desk, she saw four other individuals. The one closest to them, she realized was Cho Chang, next to her was a little girl who appeared to be 10 with whom she guessed were her parents. Wondering why all these people had gathered here the night before the task, as her and Ron found their spots next to their schoolmate._

 _Dumbledore rose from his seat and crossed to the front of his desk. "I assumed you are all wondering why you've been summoned here tonight?" At the nods from all of the students present he continued. "You have been selected to participate in the Second Task."_

 _Hermione gasped. What they champions would surely miss were people? Her nerves skyrocketed to astronomical levels for not only her safety but also for the champions. There were surely some difficult tasks that awaited them down in the lake. Hopefully Harry was as prepared as he could be for the task._

" _You will be given a potion that is similar to the Draught of Living Death. It will keep you suspended underwater, keeping you alive and safe until you and your champion reach the surface." He then waved his wand, conjuring four chairs for them to sit in, and motioned for the students to have a seat_

 _Hermione was initially nervous at the mention of the draught, but the headmaster's assurance that it was safe had reassured her. She nodded her head in understanding and moved forward when she saw Dumbledore conjure the chairs. Taking her seat, her mind began racing through the possibilities of what the task would entail. She hoped that Harry would be able to make down to wherever they were kept and rescue her in time._

 _Each person took a sip of the potion which was extremely bitter and difficult for Hermione to swallow. Noticing that she was starting to lose feeling in her feet, her thoughts drifted once more towards her friend who would have to journey into the lake the next day. As her eyes began to drift shut, a stray thought crossed her mind that caught her off guard._

 _What was Ron doing here?_

 _~Flash Back End~_

Hermione's head broke the surface of the water and regained conscious as the cold temperature of the water began to quickly return to her. She wracked her brain trying to figure out where she was and why she was here. The memories of the previous night began coming back to her, as well as her last conscious thought before the potion too effect.

She whirled herself around, wondering if her last thought was true, and was met by the face of Viktor returning back to normal. The two were quickly helped out of the water and given blankets with heating charms on them.

"I hope you are okay Herm-own-ninny," came the voice of Viktor from behind her but Hermione's sole focus was back onto the water waiting for her friends to resurface. They waited for another 10 minutes, Viktor attempting to regain her attention the entire time, before the figures of Harry and Ron broke the surface. Rushing to the edge of the dock to help them up, she was overcome with relief that they had made it out in one piece. They pulled Ron out of the water but Harry had to remain behind because the Gillyweed hadn't worn off yet

"Harry. Ron. You're both okay." Giving each boy a quick hug, she turned her attention to Harry and in a very proud voice, began congratulating him on his performance. "Thank goodness you managed to get a hold on some Gillyweed. And look, you made it back second. That's sure to look good in the eyes of the judges." A thick red blush covered Harry's face, but his attention was quickly diverted by another group of figures coming out of the water.

Three mermen rose out of the water carrying an unconscious Fleur with them. Harry immediately moved over to check on his other friend with Ron and Hermione in tow. A quick _Enneverate,_ and she was conscious once again, but the second she realized where she was, she became hysterical and had to be restrained and was demanding to be allowed to return to the lake.

" _Non!_ Let me go! _Ma Soeur_ is down zere! Gabrielle!"

Professor Dumbledore approached trying to calm the hysterical young women. "There is no need to worry Miss Delacour. Once the task is finished, the merpeople will release your sister and bring her to the surface."

" _Non_ , you don't understand. Ze Grindylow!"

Before Hermione could get a word in edge wise, a splashing sound was heard from the water nearby, signaling that Harry had gone back underwater to rescue the young girl.

-HP-

Harry swam further down into the depths of the Black Lake, approaching the cluster of Kelp that He knew from the previous year's DADA class, was the usual dwelling of the Grindylows. The weeds were extremely thick, making tracking the girl and the creatures a difficult feat. Still he continued on, he wouldn't leave her to whatever fate awaited her down in the lake.

He checked his watch to see how much time he had left on the Gillyweed. 20 minutes left, which he hoped was more than enough time to rescue the girl and make it back to the surface before he drowned himself.

Two figures were approaching him quickly. Readying his wand for any potential threat, relief washed over him as Cedric passed him with a still petrified Cho with him. Seeing Harry heading back down, he pointed to his own watch, telling Harry that he would have to be quick.

After a few more moments of diving, he caught sight of the platinum haired girl being dragged farther down towards the dark recesses near the bottom lake. Thinking quickly, he pulled his wand out and tried to fire off a stunner, and instead of a red light, a thick stream of bubbles flew from his wand.

This caused the desired effect of making the Grindylows scatter releasing Gabrielle. The only slight mishap was that the Grindylows were alerted to his presence and began to swarm around him. He tried firing his wand off all around him, hoping to scare the creatures away and maybe even take a few out. In desperation, he pulled out the knife he used to cut Ron's binds and wildly slashed around him, causing the Grindylow to flee away.

Free from the attack, he swam down and grabbed the rapidly descending girl and began to make his way back towards the surface. Glancing once more at his watch, he realized that he now only had 10 minutes before his body returned to normal. Gabrielle was much lighter than Ron so he figured that he would be able to make it out of the water faster.

No sooner had he thought crossed his mind, there was a burning sensation in his neck. His hands flew there and he started to panic as his gills began to disappear. Also more alarming was the fact that he could feel his claws and fangs extending as well as the heavy feeling on his eyes that had recently been signaling that his eyes were glowing.

Without the webbed hands and feet, Harry was reminded of the fact that he never properly learned how to swim. Doing the only thing he thought sensible, he pointed his wand at the girl and banished her towards the surface.

After he was sure she'd make it, he continued to try and fight his way unsuccessfully to the surface. Giving up hope, he began to feel light headed, his eyes began to darken as he continued to sink further down into the lake. In his last moment of consciousness, he felt an arm began pulling him before all was black.

-HP-

Seeing Cedric and Cho surface without Harry did nothing calm Hermione's already wracked nerves. She immediately moved close to them as soon as they were on the dock and interrogated them for Harry's condition.

"He was heading back down when I saw him. I told him to hurry up because I figured he hadn't found his hostage yet. Seeing as you and Ron are already here, I suppose that's not the case."

"Fleur's sister is still down there so Harry went down after her." A trace of a smile crossed her face at Harry's bravery but it was quickly replaced by her growing fear.

"Sounds just like him. Hopefully he-"

The sound of someone breaking the surface caught their attention. Seeing that Gabrielle had made it up, everyone waited to see Harry come up as well. Fleur immediately jumped in and brought her sister out of the water, joining the other's on waiting for the return of the last champion. Hermione wasn't aware that she could become even more frantic as time went on without Harry coming up.

"Cedric, cast a Bubblhead Charm on me."

He hesitated for a moment, which only made Hermione angry, prompting a forceful, "Now!" Even the experienced seventh-year knew that to refuse the demand would not end well for him, and cast the charm on her head.

Diving into the water, she sped to where Gabrielle had resurfaced and headed directly below that in an attempt to find Harry. It didn't take long for her to find him, but what surprised her was his partially transformed state. Deciding that saving him was more important than his secret, she grabbed ahold of his arm and quickly made a B-line to the surface.

Once to the surface they were quickly helped out f the water and were stopped from being swarmed by the crowd by Dumbledore approaching with an old comb in his hand.

"We need to get him to the Hospital Wing immediately. Quickly, this portkey will take you straight there. It's best you hurry before anyone notices your current state."

Grasping it, Harry and Hermione were immediately teleported to the infirmary so that they could be checked on. They were lucky that they had managed to make it without anyone seeing Harry's shifted state, but unaware to them, one pair of eyes did take notice. One thing was certain however, Fleur had a lot of questions she wanted to ask the two of them.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hopefully this chapter is easy to follow. This one is a lot longer than I normally write chapters but a lot happens in here. There's a lot of perspective jumps but I thought it was important to see the story from the POV of multiple characters.**_

 _ **I know a lot of people wanted Harry to pull Hermione out of the lake, but I feel it doesn't work with how I want the story to go. I decided that I would compromise and have Hermione pull Harry out of the lake instead.**_

 _ **Next chapter is a big one as we reveal why Harry's been dodging the issue of his lessons and other revelations have huge implications for the rest of the story.**_


	16. Revelations

Chapter 16 – Revelations

Harry was wondering how waking up in the Hospital Wing had started to become a normal occurrence. It was the day after the Second Task and he was waiting for Hermione to stop by and tell her about his condition. His conversation with Madam Pomfrey had assured him that all would be okay, but not without some complications.

The infirmary doors burst open with a blur of brow hair, signaling the arrival of the Gryffindor bookworm. Heading directly for Harry, she wrapped him up in a fierce hug causing Harry to recoil due to his injured muscles.

"Sorry."

Harry chuckled at her antics. "Don't worry Hermione. It'll take more than a few Grindylows to get me." He rose up in a dignified manner, but his attempt at humor was sullied by a wince when it aggravated his injuries.

"What exactly happened Harry?"

"By what Madam Pomfrey's told me, I had an adverse reaction to the Gillyweed." The look on Hermione's face told him that she had already figured that part out. "At first they weren't sure whether or not the Gillyweed just wore off and I accidently transformed, or if it had caused me to transform."

"Well? Which was it?"

Harry was nervous about where this line of questioning would lead. He knew that it would lead to him revealing what was happening in his lessons with Lupin. He hoped that Hermione would understand his reasoning for it, but there was still a trickle of doubt about how this would affect their relationship. Seeing no way around it he continued on.

"It caused me to accidently transform. Afterwards, it was hard for me to control my transformations, but it's become a lot easier since then." Preparing himself for the worst, he pressed on. "She also said that my recent activities had made it more likely that this would happen."

The stern look he received from that announcement made him immediately regret bringing it up, but there was no point in worrying about it now. Hermione had continually reminded him that he needed to maintain absolute control and he tried but how he had achieved it was what he thought she wouldn't understand.

"Harry, we've been through this. You need to learn control!"

"I've been working on it Hermione."

"You've got to try harder. You got to get it under control. If something were to happen-"

"It's not about control Hermione!" his outburst had stopped her argument, the shock apparent on her face. Not allowing her to go any further, Harry revealed his secret.

 _~Flashback~_

 _The First Task was only a few days away and Harry was starting to succumb to the exhaustion of his completely full schedule. From classes, to Quidditch practice, preparing for the task with Hermione, Harry wasn't sure his body could keep up like this._

 _Even his current lesson with Lupin wasn't going anywhere. They were trying to figure out how they could get Harry to control his shifts, but therein lied the problem. Harry was unable to even transform at will, which made it difficult to find a way to prevent it._

" _Don't worry Harry. We'll figure this out one way or another." Harry found it difficult to remain as optimistic as his former professor. After weeks of meeting, their search had yet to turn up anything._

" _Are you sure this is even possible Moony? I mean you can't shift at will and you've been a werewolf for a lot longer than I have."_

" _First off Harry, I can't shift without a full moon so I have no reason to learn control. Second, if anyone can figure this out, I believe you can."_

 _He hoped that Lupin was right._

" _Well… seeing as you're exhausted Harry, why don't we take a break for a while before coming back to it."_

 _They sat in comfortable silence for a long time, neither individual speaking as they were deep in thought trying to solve this conundrum. Regarding Lupin, Harry was reminded that he was one of his father's best friends. He had so many questions._

" _Hey Moon?" When Lupin looked up at him, he pressed on. "Why does Snape hate my father so much? I mean…I know he saved his life but that can't be the only reason could it?"_

 _Sighing, as he had anticipated that this question would come up, Remus regarded the young man in front of him. He was once again reminded of his two friends as he gazed at Harry._

" _No you're right, that isn't the whole story. It's mostly because Severus thought that James was trying to steal Lily from him." The startled look Harry gave him caused a chuckle to escape his lips. "You see, Lily and Severus were friends before coming to school. She was always friendly to him and James didn't understand it. They had remained close until fifth year." The look that crossed Lupin's face confused Harry further._

" _What happened?"_

" _Severus hurt Lily. During a confrontation with James and Sirius, he called her a Mudblood in his anger. She never forgave him for that."_

 _Harry's anger began to quickly rise because of that. He knew that Snape was a git, but the fact that he would call his mother such a thing made his blood boil._

" _That git! I'll hex him next time I see him!"_

 _Lupin looked up at Harry and his eyes widened in shock._

" _Harry! Your hand!"_

 _Looking down Harry saw that his nails had elongated into claws. Gasping he quickly tried to reel himself in but was stopped by Moony._

" _Hold on Harry. How do you feel?"_

 _Confused at the question, he actually paused momentarily to think it over._

" _I feel fine."_

" _Do you feel out of control?"_

" _No not in the slightest."_

 _The surprise was evident on Remus' face, as he nodded his head at Harry to allow him to compose himself._

" _What happened Harry?"_

 _Thinking about it, Harry, wasn't sure what exactly happened. He felt completely in control, but he would admit that learning about what happened to his mother had made him a little angry._

" _I'm not sure. I guess maybe I let slip my control a little bit because I was angry. Why?"_

 _Smiling, Remus gave him his answer. "I think we've just found out how you can control your shift._

 _~Flashback End~_

-HP-

Hermione was shocked at what Harry had just revealed to her. It seemed that Harry was implying that control wasn't something he could have. She just refused to believe that.

"What exactly are you saying Harry?"

He sighed before he gave his answer. "What I mean is that it's not about gaining control. It's about learning how to let go of it. The way Moony described it, my shifts were like a damn. If you stop the water flow and it eventually breaks through, you won't be able to stop it, but if you let the water out in controlled bursts, it's more manageable."

"So you mean you can change at will?"

Harry closed his closed his eyes in concentration, his rising up to head level. His face scrunched up further as his nails grew longer until they eventually became claws.

She knew she was being selfish, but deep down she felt hurt that Harry hadn't confided in her this piece of information. Hadn't she supported him throughout this whole tournament? Especially when everyone else turned their backs on him. She couldn't understand it.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry immediately looked crestfallen, like this was the most painful thing he ever had to endure. "I wanted to tell you, I really did. But I couldn't." She didn't think it was possible, but his disposition worsened even further as he continued on. "Every time I wanted to tell you, I kept seeing the look in your eyes after the First Task."

Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about. When Harry had lost control while facing the dragon, she was afraid. She knew she had nothing to be afraid of, but the rational side of her brain told her that it was possible that it could happen again. She had hoped that he hadn't noticed, but it was now painfully obvious that he had.

"I'm so sorry Harry." He waved it off as if it was nothing, even though she could see that it bothered him terribly. Little did she know how much that truly did bother him.

"I know you've noticed some things. Lie how the moon bothers me more than it did. The problem was that I tried to hold off my changes when I should be embracing them."

"Why would you embrace them Harry? Don't you want to be free of this?"

"I do. Believe me I do Hermione. It's just that I might as well get used to it because this thing doesn't look like it's going away."

Hermione felt a little more hurt at that. She had been searching for a way to cure Harry ever since she found out about his infection. The fact that he had seemingly given up on finding a cure, giving up on her hurt her deeply. If she was honest with herself it wasn't just this that had her upset.

The fact that Ron was Harry's hostage and she wasn't bothered her slightly. Wasn't she a much better friend to Harry than Ron had been earlier in the year? Slight twinges of jealousy came with that train of thought. Why was Ron more important than her? Not wanting to confront where these feelings were coming from, she redirected her anger at the only thing she could think of.

"Well I'm still gonna keep looking for a cure for you," she said hotly, "I won't stop until I find one!"

"And I'm grateful for that Hermione but I need to be comfortable with my powers, you understand that?" Even with his admittedly reasonable explanation, she couldn't come to terms with the fact that he had given up. Her mind was in a complete blank, she could only focus on one other thing.

"So what have you been doing with Lupin since you found out?"

"We've been working on increasing how much I can let go at a tie before it becomes too much. Since he's already a werewolf, if I go too far it won't really matter."

Finally getting frustrated at his dismissal of his situation, she gave him a hasty goodbye, before turning and leaving the hospital wing.

-HP-

As Hermione was angrily making her way away from the Hospital Wing, she passed one Fleur Delacour, who was in turn heading there herself. Wondering briefly what caused the bushy-haired girl to leave in a huff, she quickened her ace slightly to the infirmary.

Inside, she scanned the beds for Harry, finding him in a bed off near the corner of the room. As she got closer, he observed her questioningly, not sure of what she was doing there.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Potter."

"Bonjour, Fleur. What brings you here?"

She chuckled at his attempt at the French greeting, but was shocked at how his immediate dismissal of why she was there.

"I wanted to zank you for rescuing my seester."

Blushing at her thanks, he immediately tried to maneuver his way out of this. "It was nothing Fleur. Anyone would've done what I did."

"Non, zat's where you are wrong. You were the only one who even made a move to rescue 'er. For zat, I zank you." She then leaned forward and kissed him on both cheeks. The blush on his face grew an even deeper shade of red, which Fleur found very amusing.

"You are different from ze ozzers I 'ave seen. I would like it if we became good friends after this 'Arry."

"I think I'd like that too."

They chatted idly for a few more minutes, before Fleur decided to broach subject that she knew would be a sensitive one.

"'Arry, I want you to know zat I know that you are different from everyone else."

A mixture of confusion and worry crossed Harr's face. "What do you mean Fleur?"

"I saw your eyes and your claws when you came out of ze lake."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

Raising her eyebrows, she decided to play along briefly. "Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"Zen what may I ask is up wiz your 'and?"

Harry looked down and saw that his hand still hand claws protruding from it and quickly tried to reel himself in and return it to normal. "Okay so you know about my secret. You're not going to start avoiding me and tell everyone are you?"

"No 'Arry. I understand what it is like to be different from everyone else. You're secret is safe with me." He smiled at her, unable to understand at the moment why she was so understanding about his condition. "Remember 'Arry, I am also considered a 'creature' by your government'.

With that, Harry now had a friend that he felt could understand what he was going through perfectly. Looking at her a thought came to his mind.

"How do you deal with the way people look at you?"

"You don't." The coldness in her eyes frightened Harry slightly. It was obvious that thi was something that Fleur was quite familiar with dealing with. "Zey will zink what zey want to and zere is nozzing you can do about it. Ze best thing for people like us to do is try to move on wiz it and ignore it." Though she didn't outright say it, her body language told the story of someone who didn't quite accept their own words. The air around them was beginning to feel tense so Harry decided to drop the topic.

Fleur stood up to leave, thanking him once again for his heroism by kissing him on the cheek again before leaving. As she turned to leave the infirmary, she failed to notice his hand moving up to where she had kissed him, as well as the goofy grin that crossed his face.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **So, I hope that the revelation that Harry has to learn how to let go of his control is a satisfying one. Everything is not perfect right now between Harry and Hermione but let's see where this causes the relationships to head as we progress further in the story.**_

 _ **I know some people may think that Hermione is OOC with how she's reacting to the news about Harry. My only argument is that the sixth book clearly shows that sometimes, she can be as irrational as everyone else. Not only that but when she does, she's even more irrational than everyone else.**_

 _ **I also want to answer a couple of private messages I got here in my AN. Some people asked why I waited so long to cover Harry's lessons with Lupin or why I don't discuss his transformations during the full moon since the beginning of term. To answer the questions, nothing interesting has happened in either of those scenarios. The lesson in this chapter is the only one where anything interesting happens and since few people know that Harry is a werewolf, there aren't any complications with his transformations**_

 _ **As always, Thanks for reading!**_


	17. An Ocean Between Us

Chapter 17 – An Ocean Between Us

In the month following the Second Task, things between Harry and Hermione was considerably tense. At a casual glance, it seemed like nothing was wrong, but upon diligent inspection it was plain to see that something had come between the two. The argument had left a band taste in both of their mouths and even though they were still friendly, neither wanted approach the topic of Harry's affliction again.

Ron was now in a similar position as Hermione was earlier in the year, trying to maintain two friendships. His situation wasn't nearly as hers had been, seeing as how they were still friends but the air between them was tense.

Hermione wasn't sure when her and Ron had begun being cordial with each other again but it was a nice change of pace. They still argued a lot but with her relationship with the other member of their trio strained, she needed someone desperately to talk to.

After two weeks of this going on, Ron had confronted her in the library about what was going on between her and Harry.

"Well if you must know, I'm just upset about the Second Task." The confused look on Ron's face was still plastered on his face.

"I know that but what exactly made you upset?"

Sighing as she could see no way around it, she closed the book she was currently pouring through to address him. "It's the fact that Harry lost control during the task and it's because of his recent lessons."

"I thought he was trying to learn control during those lessons?"

"That's what I thought, but I guess he's learning how to let go of his control enough to utilize his abilities." Ron raised his eyebrows, the question evident by the expression on his face.

"Honestly Ron, it's like he's given up trying to be free of his curse. I feel like he doesn't believe that we can find a way to cure him."

Ron began laughing in earnest after her last comment, causing her temper to begin to boil up again. She was about to lash out at him when he raised his hand and managed to compose himself enough to speak.

"Do you hear how barking mad that sounds. Harry hasn't given up on you. I don't blame him for wanting to make his life more comfortable by learning how make the best of his situation."

"He can't lose control Ronald. If people were to find out that Harry is a werewolf, then he'll be treated like an outcast of society. All it would take is for him to lose it once."

"But that's just it Hermione, he hasn't been losing control. Remember when he came out of the lake. Even though he was partially transformed, he was still mentally in control. He hasn't lost it since he almost tore Malfoy apart earlier in the year, unless you count the First Task but that was just after he started adjusting. If anything, he's a lot better now than he was then."

Hermione was completely lost for words about Ron's argument. Even though she tried to deny it, everything he said was 100 percent true. When he had put it all like that, she felt incredibly guilty for snapping at Harry and especially for avoiding him for as long as she had.

"I never thought of it that way. I guess you're right Ron." Looking up, she saw that Ron still had a disbelieving look on his face. Just by judging the look in his eyes, she knew that he had figured out that there was more to this than she had let on.

"Alright spill it. What's really wrong Hermione?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You admitted defeat far too quickly, which means you knew deep down that you were wrong. That could only mean that something else is bothering you."

Ron certainly had his moments. Even though he wasn't the brightest person around, he was still very insightful and his deduction only proved that. Seeing no way out of this, she decided that she had to tell him the truth. She hoped that he wouldn't be angry by what she said.

"Fine there is something else okay?" She rolled her eyes when a smug smile crossed Ron's face. "I'm upset that I wasn't Harry's hostage." Waiting for the anger to pour out of her friend, she closed her eyes and recoiled slightly. What she got instead was something completely unexpected.

"Well, maybe you were Krum's hostage because there wasn't anyone else. Think about it, he really doesn't talk to anyone. The only person he is ever seen interacting with is either the other champions or you." She blushed at the praise and tried to find some fault in his logic but couldn't. "It could also have been based of off who their dates to the Yule Ball was. You went with Krum and Cedric went with Cho. Harry and Fleur couldn't be each other's hostage's seeing as they went together could they?"

The more Ron talked, the more Hermione felt ashamed by her behavior. She had pushed her best friend away due to some petty jealousy and could only hope that she hadn't damaged their relationship beyond repair.

She stood up to head towards the Great Hall for lunch, and was immediately grateful that Ron decided to follow her. It made her feel immeasurably better that he wouldn't shun her for her behavior. Now all she could do was hope that Harry would be equally as understanding.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Hermione immediately began to search around for any sign of Harry. After several minutes, it appeared that he hadn't made it down to lunch quite yet. She happened to glance towards the Slytherin table to see Viktor staring at her. Before she found his attention flattering, but now it was getting to the point where it seemed that he looked at her obsessively.

The sound of footsteps entering the hall turned her attention towards the door. The sight she saw nearly made Hermione's heart stop.

Harry was making his way towards into the hall, but what got to her was the fact that Fleur was accompanying him. Though Hermione had initially encouraged Harry to befriend the French witch she was starting to regret that decision. The two seemed fairly comfortable in each other's presence. Hermione's eyes widened as a horrible thought crossed her mind.

' _Am I Being replaced?'_

Try as she could to dispel the thought, several details kept running through her mind which only seemed to reinforce the idea.

Firstly was the fact that she hadn't truly had a good conversation with Harry ever since their fight. Sure they did converse when necessary, but it wasn't as close as it was before. Harry seemed to eventually get used to the strain on their friendship, but Hermione knew that she was the one that started the whole thing. It was only natural that Harry would try to associate with another person.

Second was Fleur's status as a champion. It was plainly obvious to everyone that Fleur wasn't just an exotic beauty. To have been named the Triwizard champion of her school she'd of had to have been both smart and skillful.

The two parted as they headed for their regular seats, but Hermione barely noticed as thoughts of Harry turning to Fleur for help instead of her ate away at her conscious. When Harry finally sat down next to Ron, Hermione finally chanced a glance at her former best friend. He didn't seem to be as beat up as she herself felt. In fact, he seemed to look great. It was then that Hermione finally noticed that he wasn't wearing his black Hogwarts robes. Her mind was so jumbled up that she couldn't quite place what they were.

Ron was the first person to break the awkward silence at the table. "So Harry, you ready for the match against Durmstrang today?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be going up against the greatest seeker in the world."

Hermione's eyes widened as realization hit her. How could she forget that today was the last Quidditch match in the inter-school tournament? This only made her crumble even more as she realized the depth that she had truly abandoned Harry. This was the most important thing to him, even more so than the tournament.

Harry and Ron didn't seem to notice her inner turmoil as the continued to converse about the upcoming match.

"Come one Harry, don't think like that. You've already shown that you can go toe to toe with Krum in the bloody tournament. A little Quidditch should be a piece of cake."

The fire that seemed to light in Harry's eyes after that was enough for Hermione to decide that she was going to apologize to Harry and get her best friend back.

-HP-

As Harry got up from his seat in the Great Hall, he couldn't help but lament the distance that had come between himself and Hermione. The look in her eyes when he mentioned the Quidditch match today was all he needed to figure out that she had forgotten about it and it hurt him immensely.

He knew from being close with Hermione during the time since he was turned that she valued friendship just as much as he did, so he knew that their conflict was having an impact on her as well. She had confided in him that she used her intelligence to try and help others because for a long time it was how she felt like she was needed. He knew that they're friendship and helped lessen that feeling within her but at the same time still lurked in the back of her mind.

It was because of this that Harry thought was why she was suddenly upset with him. He had given her the impression that he didn't want her help, which only served to allow her old insecurities to rise back up to the surface.

Even though he didn't feel that he was wrong, he still felt bad for hurting her because he was aware of her insecurities. Ultimately this lead to his decision to try and keep a tight grip on his control, not for his own benefit, but because he was willing to try and tough it out in order to save their friendship. He would only have to wait until after the match to tell her.

As he stepped further from his seat and towards the doors so he could get ready for the match he saw that another person had gotten up as well. Glancing over, he saw Krum rise for his seat and make his way out as well.

Turning to head out towards the Quidditch pitch, Harry's progress was stopped by a hand grabbing a hold of his arm. Whirling around, the older champion was standing there with a smug smile on his face. Even though he respected rum's abilities, he couldn't but be annoyed at his superior attitude and arrogant disposition.

"I vanted to approach you Mister Potter and vish for a good match later." Krum stuck his hand out for a handshake which Harry begrudgingly accepted after a few moments.

"Likewise Krum." He was doubtful that the star seeker's words were sincere, and couldn't shake the feeling that this conversation was about more than just the game.

"May ze prize go to ze better man."

Returning his gaze to Krum's face, looking in the direction of his gaze, he saw that Krum was staring very intently at Hermione.

"What are you on about?"

His words caused Harry's blood to boil. It was evident that Hermione liked Krum and Harry thought that the feeling was mutual between the two, but is Krum claiming that Hermione was nothing more than a prize to him.

"It is a shame zat ze Boy Who Lived is going to lose someone such as Herm-own-ninny."

His anger began to rise increasingly. The meaning behind Krum's words were very clear to him. All Hermione was to Krum was some prize that he could take away from a potential threat. Harry felt even more determined than before to but Krum in his place.

"We'll have to see about that," and without any other word, Harry turned and stalked off towards the Locker room, with a deep determination in his eyes.

-HP-

25 minutes into the Quidditch match, the score was tied for the umpteenth time that day. Both the Durmstrang and Hogwarts teams seemed to be evenly matched. While the Hogwarts team were dominant in the Beater category and their Chasers had superior teamwork, the Durmstrang team's Chaser's were better individual flyers and they had a better Keeper. Neither team seemed to be able to pull away and gain any kind of significant lead. The largest led up until that point was a 30 point lead for Durmstrang but they weren't able to keep it up before the game becoming tied once again.

Circling high above the pitch was Harry and Krum. The two were immensely talented but they had opted for different approaches. Harry would be constantly darting across the field, simultaneously causing distractions for the other team as well as searching for the tiny winged ball. Krum however chose to hover in the middle of the pitch and scan for the Snitch that way, though it was still not lost to Harry that his gaze more often than not fell onto a particular bushy-haired girl in the crowd.

Glancing at Hermione, Harry couldn't help but hope that Krum wasn't right about his assumption. In any normal situation, his challenge wouldn't have bothered Harry in the slightest, but with their strained relationship, he couldn't shake the fear of that potential outcome despite how unfounded it truly was.

The length of the game was beginning to take its toll on Harry. In his attempt to keep a tight leash on his powers, the disturbing nightmares had returned in addition to the ones about Voldemort that he already suffered from. All this added up to a greatly sleep-deprived Seeker, whose exhaustion was starting to hinder his Quidditch ability.

A lightning fast streak caught Harry's attention and he quickly realized that Krum had successfully spotted the snitch. Cursing himself for losing focus, he sped off after him and attempt to make up his lost ground.

The chase was much more difficult for Harry due to various reasons. First and the easiest to acknowledge was his exhaustion which slowed his reaction time slightly. Secondly was the fact that Krum was a world-class Seeker, which meant that he had a considerable amount of experience over Harry. Krum's broom was also the same as Harry's meaning the speed advantage that Harry was used to was no longer there. Lastly, and in Harry's eyes the worst, was the fact that all the adrenaline of the contest was starting to cause Harry's control to begin to crack dangerously fast.

After much time, Harry was able to catch up to Krum and began ramming into the side of him with his shoulder to try and shake him off. The older player returned fire, and the two continued to battle for dominance until the Snitch made a deep dive towards the ground.

Pushing forward, both dove after it, trying to out fly the other as they barreled towards the ground. Continuing to ram each other as they descended closer to ground, neither seeker wanted to be the first person to pull up. At the last second, the snitch leveled out above the ground as began fluttering a mere 10 meters off of the ground.

Lucky for Harry, Krum pulled up from his dive a second before Harry, leaving him about 5 meters above the snitch, while Harry pulled up at the last second and was perfectly level with the snitch. Sensing his advantage, he outstretched his arm in order to catch the snitch but had temporarily taken his attention away from Krum.

He quickly paid for his mistake, as Krum suddenly blindsided him, knocking him off his broom to the ground below. Pain swam through Harry's head, causing some of the precious control he managed to maintain to slip. Feeling the heaviness of his eyes he quickly got up to his hands and knees before attempting to remount his broom.

Cheers from the Durmstrang section of the stands caused his heart to drop and the scene up in the air only confirmed his fears. Krum floated just above the ground with a smug look on his face holding the still flapping snitch in his hands.

It was this that caused the flood gates to burst open and Harry began to feel himself lose control. The noise of the crowd began to overpower his increasingly sensitive hearing, his hands flying to his ears as he ran towards the locker room.

Bursting through the door, the beast finally took over as he relentlessly began to rain fists into one of the lockers, greatly denting it. He roared in an attempt to further alleviate his frustration but it seemed that two weeks of air tight control made it almost impossible to regain it.

Two familiar scent caught his attention, causing the human part of his brain to come out to the forefront.

"Harry?"

Turning his attention to the door, he saw both Hermione and Fleur standing their looking worried. His humanity was slowly losing the battle for control again and the sight of two witches only made the wolf inside him more blood thirsty. Hermione began to take a step forward but Harry raised a clawed hand to try and stop her.

"Don't."

This didn't stop her as now Fleur began to approach as well. "Let us 'elp you 'Arry."

"I don't want either of you to get hurt." He shut his eyes and cried out as he was close to losing the battle, but he was startled when two sets of arms quickly wrapped around him. He tried to shake them off, but instead of losing what little control remained, he found that the fog was beginning to clear as he managed to control his breathing and calm down significantly.

Once he was sure that he was no longer a danger he looked up to see that both girls had relieved smiles on their faces. It was Hermione's face that was more telling, showing many emotions including relief and… regret?

"Fleur, do you mind if I speak with Hermione privately for a minute?"

She raised an eyebrow in question, but the look on the other two's faces was enough to agree and leave the locker room. With just the two of them left, Harry and Hermione studied each other's faces, the sadness and lack of sleep evident on both of their faces.

"Haven't you been sleeping well?"

"Not really. You?"

"Ever since our argument, I've tried to keep a tighter leash on my abilities. Ever since then, the nightmares have come back."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. Because of me you almost revealed your condition and you lost the game."

"My losing wasn't your fault Hermione. Krum cheated."

"Yes but I know he riled you up before the match, and you said that repressing your abilities makes your emotions stronger. Your anger and exhaustion were because of me and I feel like I've failed you as a friend."

Not wanting to hear anymore, Harry quickly covered the distance between them and wrapped Hermione in a hug.

"You could never fail me Hermione. You were only looking out for me. It's mostly my fault for not trusting you with how my lessons were going."

Silence settled between them as they continued to embrace for several moments both taking solace in each other's company. Harry was greatly relieved that Hermione had forgiven and he couldn't help but forgive her after her heartfelt apology.

"I've missed you Hermione."

"I've missed you too."

They disconnected themselves before heading back towards the castle and began the long process of repairing their friendship.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hey I'm back. Took a little bit of a break to really work on this chapter. This was another chapter that I knew was going to happen when I started really coming up with ideas of where the fourth year would go.**_

 _ **I hope that I got across what I was trying to convey with Hermione's feelings during this chapter. It's natural for people to displace something that they're angry about onto something else when they don't want to acknowledge what's really wrong. I feel in a lot of other Fanfictions, Hermione is portrayed as perfect when she obviously is not.**_

 _ **I hope that helps with any confusion.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	18. Helter Skelter

Chapter 18 – Helter Skelter

"Maze."

The simplicity of Krum's statement made Harry's brain kick into overdrive. The Third Task couldn't be that simple could it. An easy walk through the maze, in search of what he would assume would be the Triwizard Cup.

"Yes Mr. Krum. The Third Task is quite straightforward. Each champion will enter the maze according to their current tournament standings. First Mr. Krum and Mr. Potter will enter," he nodded his head in Cedric's direction, "followed Mr. Diggory shortly after and then finally Ms. Delacour."

Ever the showman, Bagman then turned around making a large sweeping motion with his arms, as if it wasn't apparent that the maze was fairly large. "Once inside, you'll navigate you're way towards the center of the maze where the Triwizard cup awaits. But that's not all you'll face. Hagrid has generously provided us with a large number of beasts that will block your path, along with various spells and enchantments that you will need to break."

A sinking feeling coursed through Harry's chest. If Hagrid brought some creatures for the task, then he could count on the fact that they were most likely dangerous in nature. He chanced a glance at all of the other champions.

Cedric's face appeared similar to what he imagined his face looked like. His face looked ashen white, a similar expression on his face as when he was about to face his dragon. If anyone were to understand the gravity of Hagrid's inclusion, it would be his fellow Hogwarts Champion.

Next was Krum, who had a blank expression showing. The star seeker's face was schooled to show no emotion towards the information, making Harry wonder if Durmstrang taught their students how to deal with such things better than Hogwarts. His eyes were focused on Harry, for who knows how long as he was already glaring daggers towards the unwilling participant when Harry chanced to look at him.

Ever since the Quidditch match, when Krum had actually not won Hermione from him, his cold nature intensified tenfold, it seemed he was always only seconds away from hexing Harry into oblivion, not wanting any kind of confrontation, he broke the staring contest first.

Lastly, he exchanged a few looks with Fleur. Ever since the Second Task, the two had started what they knew was an unlikely friendship. The exotic beauty and the scrawny boy. It didn't bother them even in the slightest, and with Hermione and Harry now back on speaking terms, she had begun to integrate herself into Harry's inner circle.

In such a short time Harry grew closer to the French witch, being only second to Hermione in terms of how much he trusted them. He even began to notice that the warm feeling that he had only felt towards Hermione, he was now feeling when she was around. Harry had a difficult time understanding these feelings because of his upbringing. Could he be developing feelings for the two witches, and if that was the case, which feelings were stronger?

His thoughts were interrupted as Bagman dismissed the champions and found the other champions turned to leave. Quickly catching up with Fleur, he decided to accompany her back to the Beauxbatons carriage.

"You seemed worried about ze next task."

"With Hagrid providing the creatures for the maze, let's just say that his idea of pets have been an acromantula, a dragon, and a three-headed dog."

Fleur's eyes widened at the implication, if he considered such creatures as pets, what would he use as obstacles for the maze?

"'E wouldn't use anything zat would be too dangerous non?"

"Have you seen the Blast-Ended Skrewts we're raising in his class?"

"Ze what?"

"Never mind."

The idle conversation continued as they strolled towards the carriage. Even though they talked a great deal and were much closer with each other than before, their conversations hadn't progressed beyond discussing the tournament and some minor details about their lives.

They had almost made it to their destination when they noticed a figure stumbling out of the Forbidden Forest.

-HP-

"What would Mr. Crouch be doing here? I thought he was sick."

"I'm not sure Hermione, but he didn't seem well when we found him."

It had been a few hours since Harry and Fleur stumbled upon Mr. Crouch. He looked deathly pale and was mumbling things about needing to find Dumbledore and Voldemort becoming stronger. Deciding that the Headmaster needed to be informed, Garry began to run back towards the castle until he noticed a flash of red behind him. When he turned back towards where he started, he noticed that Fleur was unconscious on the ground before another flash of red left him unconscious.

"After we came to, Moody said zat 'e saw a flash of green and when 'e finally made it to where we were, Meester Crouch was gone."

Harry sat there deep in thought for several moments. Crouch's last words were running through his head over and over again, trying to make sense of it all.

"Mr. Crouch obviously knew something that he shouldn't have. I bet whoever put my name in the goblet killed him so that he couldn't tell Dumbledore what was happening. If only I had stayed behind, we might've been able to save him."

Hermione stepped forward and offered a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Harry. If you would've stayed then whoever killed Crouch might've killed you as well." She stood up once the guilt was no longer evident in his eyes, now glancing back and forth between the two champions. "Besides, maybe he's still alive. Just because Professor Moody hasn't found him…"

At the mention of their DADA teacher, a strange look crossed Harry's face. This did not go unnoticed be either Fleur or Hermione.

"What is it 'Arry?"

"It's just that I still can't place the scent I get around Moody. I know I've smelled it before but I can't place it."

"It's probably nothing Harry."

"It's not just that though. He seems intent on helping me in the tournament, as if me winning is the most important thing out there."

"I don't know Harry. I don't think it is anything to worry about."

Sensing defeat, Harry decided to drop the issue. He had no proof on his skepticism towards the professor and he was even starting believe that he was being paranoid.

"I guess you're right Hermione." Glancing at the large clock in front of the school, he realized that it was already passed curfew and they needed to hurry so they wouldn't get caught. "It's getting late, so we should probably all turn in for the night."

Standing up from the bench where they were sitting, he waved goodbye to Fleur before heading back to Gryffindor Tower with Hermione.

-HP-

After entering the Great Hall the next day, they immediately headed straight for Professor Dumbledore for any news about Mr. Crouch.

"I'm sorry to say that Barty was nowhere to be found. If the green flash you saw was indeed the killing curse, then it is likely that he won't be found." Seeing the crestfallen look on Harry's face, he gave a reassuring smile before continuing. "However, we will keep searching until such evidence that he was murdered comes to light." Seeing no other way around it, they turned and headed back towards the Gryffindor table to sit with Fleur and Ron.

Since Harry and Hermione had become friends with the French witch, Ron tried his best to not be affected by her. It was difficult at first, but overtime Ron had managed to overcome most of her allure.

Most of the time.

A smack to the back of his head as they sat down, broke Ron from the trance tht he had accidently found himself in.

"Close your mouth Ronald."

"It was an accident Hermione."

"It is okay 'Ermione. I can tell 'e is trying."

The quartet continued eating for several minutes allowing Hermione's thoughts to drift to the Beauxbatons champion. Though she still felt some resentment towards her because of her pessimistic view on many things, Hermione decided that if she was friends with Harry, then she could learn to accept her as well.

The only thing hindering her progress was the closeness the two. It was definitely seemed as though Fleur really wanted to be good friends with Harry, while Harry seemed oblivious to the whole thing.

"Did you guys find out what the next task is?" Ron's question broke her train of thought as the conversation turned to the finale of the tournament.

"Yeah. Me, Fleur, and the others are going to have to find our way through a spell and beast infested maze. Courtesy of Hagrid." The trepidation in his voice during the last statement was clearly evident.

"Blimey. I hope he doesn't go too overboard." With a smirk he added in, "I mean if his idea of a pet is a giant three-headed dog, then you'll probably have to face something like a basilisk in there."

Everyone at the table noticed the bewildered expression on Harry's face at that comment.

"I hope not. Facing one basilisk in a life-time is enough for me."

It was Fleur's turn to look surprised. "Do you mean you 'ave face a basilisk once before?"

Begrudgingly, Harry recalled the story of his second year, much to the shock and awe of Fleur, before realizing the he and Ron needed to head to Divinations.

-HP-

It was during Divination class that Harry noticed that his sense were starting to go haywire. At first, he became aware of a light buzzing sound that upon investigation could be attributed to a large beetle flying up near the windowsill. It was several minutes later that his sense of smell and vision were also starting to be effected, the smells in the rom becoming overbearing and invasive and the sunlight began to give him a headache.

"Harry mate, you feelin' alright."

He was about to answer before his vision began to fog up and he immediately fell to the floor. Grasping at his scar, his vision began to swim as images of a house that he hadn't seen since the summer began to play through his mind.

" _I see Wormtail. This news surely does change a few things. However, the plan will still go as expected."_

" _But my lord, if what he said is true, then the boy is unsuited for the ritual. Surely you could use someone else."_

" _NO! THE BOY IS EVERYTHING!" bellowed a voice that Harry couldn't see. He was back in the house that he had dreamed about over the summer. He recognized Wormtail immediately, but even though he knew the voice was Voldemort, he couldn't find him anywhere. "We will still need him for the ritual. His…condition, will be useful for recruiting… additional forces."_

" _You can't mean him do you master?"_

" _Yes Wormtail, him."_

" _But he can't be trusted. He and his foul brood will surely turn-"_

" _Silence you blithering coward. Crucio!" and then Harry felt an unimaginable pain wrack through his whole body. He thrashed around for several seconds before a worried voice began to pierce through the fog._

"Harry. Wake up."

He opened his eyes to find himself back in Trelawney's classroom. He noticed several faces glancing at him from a distance before his eyes settle back on Ron.

"You okay mate? You fell over in your chair and your eyes started glowing. I managed to make sure that no one was close enough to see it until they stopped."

Trying to regain himself, Harry stood up from where he had evidently passed out and attempted to brush the whole thing off.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just probably the whole tournament thing getting to me. I think I'll just head down to the infirmary."

Harry gathered his books and headed down the trap door and out of the tower and instead of heading towards the Hospital Wing, he began to make his way towards Dumbledore's office.

-HP-

"Now since you have gotten a glimpse into what has been troubling me Harry, why don't you tell me why you're here."

He was slightly embarrassed for himself. While waiting for Dumbledore to return from escorting the minster out of his office, Harry stumbled upon his Pensieve and found himself deep inside Dumbledore's memories.

"Well you see sir, I've been having these dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Yessir, about Voldemort. I find myself inside this house with Voldemort and Wormtail. They're talking about a plan that they have. A plan to kill me sir."

If Dumbledore was startled by this news, he schooled is face to maintain the same expression throughout all of Harry's admission.

"How many times have you had this dream?"

"Only twice sir. Once over the summer and just now in Divination."

He appeared to think hard for a minute, as if trying to determine what to say. "I consider it unwise to linger on these dreams Harry. However, if they were to continue I want you to inform me right away."

"Yes sir."

The twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eye after, this but he seemed to notice that there was more.

"Is something else troubling you Harry?"

Harry wasn't sure what he should say to the Headmaster but decided that it wasn't important. "Nothing sir."

"Alright then Harry. It's nearly time for dinner so perhaps you should run along."

Harry exited the office and immediately began to ponder on what he saw in the pensieve. During one of the memories, he picked up on the scent of Professor Moody. He had looked around and saw that the aged Auror was sitting slightly behind Dumbledore. It wasn't until a later memory that he noticed that the smell had gone, but Moody was still in the courtroom behind Dumbledore.

Could something have happened to change Moody's scent? And if not, then why did Moody smell different now?

 _ **Author's Note-**_

 _ **So here we are with another chapter. I know this chapter was a bit more filler than maybe some people would like, but I didn't want to rush further into the story with the end of the "Goblet Saga" so near.**_

 _ **After this we got one more pre-Third Task Chapter, two chapters for the third task, and then one or two chapters to wrap up the fourth year.**_

 _ **If anyone is confused by the chapter title, Helter Skelter is sometimes used as a name for a downward spiral. You can probably guess then why I chose it.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	19. One Step Closer

Chapter 19 – One Step Closer

High above the Quidditch pitch, Harry sat searching for any sign of the elusive Golden Snitch. In the final weeks leading up to the Third Task, it was decided that the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff rematch would take place on the day before the task. Finding replacements was easy enough, as all of the previous year's Hufflepuff team was still in school, meaning that the only player who needed a replacement was Wood. After meeting with the rest of the team, it was decided that a full tryout wasn't necessary and Ron was chosen to fill in for the graduated Keeper.

The match was just as competitive as it was last year, but with the maze drawing near, neither team wanted to risk their champion getting injured right before the close of the tournament. Both teams managed to keep it fairly even, with the score never straying for from a 20 to 30 point lead.

A movement to Harry's right caught his attention, alerting him to the approach of his opponent Seeker and fellow champion Cedric.

"Not a bad match 'eh Harry?!" He shouted over the roar of the crowd below. Even though the game was an unofficial one, all of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had turned up, with some of Ravenclaw and the visiting school deciding to make an appearance. Slytherin however, was noticeably absent.

"Yeah! Looks like it's down to you and me!"

"And this time, there won't be any dispute when I out fly you." The smile on Cedric's face told Harry that he was only slightly joking, causing a similar grin to sprout onto his own face.

"That confident are we?"

Before the conversation could continue, a quick flash of gold flew between the two, resulting in both of them rocketing off after the Snitch.

As their race continued, Harry was immediately hit with a sense of déjà vu, as the tiny ball was darting upwards into the clouds much it had during the previous match. The only differences this time was Harry's broom, the clearer weather and the lack of Dementors.

Almost as fast as it had flown past them, it changed direction and began a nosedive down back towards the pitch. Both Harry and Cedric forced their brooms forward in an effort to grab it before it decided to change directions again. At first they were evened up but ever so slowly, Harry began to pull ahead until he was able to clasp his fingers around the Snitch about 50 feet from the ground.

Holding up his prize, his ears were met by the deafening cheers from the Gryffindor section as well as a few smatterings from elsewhere. He searched the crowd for two particular individuals, and was fortunate enough to find them sitting together.

Looking up proudly at him were Hermione and Fleur. Though it was initially a rough start due to their preconceived notions, the two were slowly making their way to becoming friends. At least at this point they were at least friendly with each other, but he had figured that it would be a while before they progressed much further than that.

A gasp from the Hufflepuff section alerted Harry to something being wrong. Searching around, he saw Cedric flying some feet above him, apparently losing control of his broom. Flashbacks to Harry's first year when his broom had once acted the same gave Harry the presence of mind t act quickly.

Shortly after he had noticed, Cedric lost his fight for control and was cast off of his broom and began tumbling towards the ground some 40 feet below. Thinking quickly, Harry willed his broom forward in an effort to try and catch the older boy. What he didn't account for was the weight imbalance that the feat would cause, which led to both harry and Cedric to fall about 10 feet to the ground once Harry had intercepted him.

Moments after their landing, Hermione, Fleur, and Cedric's girlfriend Cho Chang came running out onto the field to check on him.

"Cedric!"

"Harry!"

"'Arry!"

Once the girls had arrived, they had found that neither boy was injured as Harry's intervention had stopped most of Cedric's fall.

"What 'appened to you two?"

Cedric was the first to answer. "I'm not sure. I was hovering after Harry caught the Snitch and all of a sudden, my broom seemed like it was determined to buck me off."

Cho immediately wrapped her arms around him and immediately began thanking him for being okay. Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Harry turned to talk to the other two.

"What about you Harry?"

"Yeah I'll be alright. I saw Cedric was in trouble so I had to do something." It was after this that Hermione's brows furrowed as a thought entered her mind.

"What is it 'Ermione?"

"Nothing." When neither Harry nor Fleur bought it, she reluctantly continued. "Oh alright then. I didn't want to say anything because I can't be too sure but-" her gaze tuned directly to Harry, "-I believe we've seen something like this before."

"What do you mean you've seen something like this before?" Fleur new that she was still in the early stages of friendship with Hermione but she knew that she and Harry had faced many things in the years before she met them.

Harry decided to answer her question first. "During my first match, my broom started acting the same way, I was nearly thrown off from about 100 feet in the air."

"What would cause your broom to act in such a way?"

Hermione was now looking at Harry, as if asking him if they should divulge any more before she appeared to relent.

"It was because someone was cursing Harry's broom. I managed to stop them and Harry was able to finish the match."

With that information out in the open, the three of them began to look around the Quidditch pitch for anyone in particular. No one who seemed like they would do such a thing was found amongst the sea of faces that is until Fleur noticed a peculiar sight over towards the path back to the castle.

Harry and Hermione followed her gaze and was met by the sight of a visibly irate Krum walking away from Professor Moody, who had an unsettlingly neutral expression on his face.

-HP-

"Mr. Potter. Miss Delacour."

Fleur's thoughts were interrupted by the approach of the Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress. Realizing that he hadn't been paying attention, she quickly righted herself and turned her attention to the older witch.

"Yes Professor?"

"Mr. Potter, you and Miss Delacour are needed in the chamber behind the staff table at once."

Fleur noticed that Harry's face paled at that. Ever since Cedric had nearly fallen off his broom, he had voiced his opinion that something didn't feel right. His constant nervous and edgy demeanor did nothing to calm her own frazzled nerves.

"Does zis 'ave somezing to do wiz ze task?"

"In a manner, yes. The champions' families have been invited to watch the Third Task, so you have the opportunity to see them." Both Fleur and McGonagall noticed the sudden somber turn in Harry's expression, and it was easy to determine why he had it. "Don't worry Mr. Potter, a certain ex-Professor of yours has come to watch along with his dog."

Harry's mood instantly perked up at that, requiring no further prompting from Harry to go off and see the two individuals. Bidding Ron and Hermione goodbye, the two champions strolled up the hall and into the chamber.

No sooner had he entered the room, Harry found himself on his back having been pounced on by Padfoot.

"Oi Padfoot. Cut it out!" The dog immediately relented and Harry began to pet and speak to the dog while Fleur watched curiously. It almost seemed as though the dog could somehow understand what he was saying.

"Hello Harry." Fleur turned her head to see a man in shabby robes strolling towards them, obvious joy in his eyes at seeing how the other two were behaving.

"Moony! It's good to see you. How've you been?"

"I've been fine Harry. I hear you're doing well yourself. Tied for first place and all." The man than leaned forward so that no on else could hea the next part. "Been keeping up with your training?"

"I have Moony," looking around briefly he also lowered his voice, "it's okay Moony Fleur knows all about my "condition"."

The man turned towards her and appeared to size her up. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure. Remus Lupin."

He extended his hand out, promptly Fleur to delicately take it. His grip was surprisingly fragile, but had the ghost of raw power being held back seemingly.

"Fleur Delacour. So you are a-"

"Yes I'm sure after what you just heard, that you have correctly deduced my condition. If it's not too much trouble, I'd rather not have said out loud. Some people might not like the idea of my kind being around a school full of children."

"I understand Mr. Lupin. My grandmozzer was a Veela so I am used to being looked down upon by many."

"Ahh I thought I smelled something different about you. Nevertheless, it's nice to meet someone who is a friend of Harry's."

The dog had now started to dart around playfully, knocking into Harry occasionally, causing him to chase after it for several minutes. The laughter from it only died once Fleur noticed her parents and Gabrielle walking toward them.

"Fleur!"

Like a platinum haired dart, the youngest Delacour launched herself into her sister's arms, hugging her with all she had.

"It is good to see you Gabrielle. Mama. Papa." She stepped up and gave her parents each a hug as well before introducing them to Harry's family.

"Mama, Papa, zis is Harry Potter and-"

"Remus Lupin. I was a friend of Harry's father. It is a pleasure to meet you both."

Her father shook the man's hand before introducing himself. "Likewise Monsieur Lupin. I'm Sebastian Delacour and this is my wife Apolline."

A shriek from their left caused all their heads to turn, only for them to witness Gabrielle chasing Padfoot around the room. This caused laughs from all the families, and the group continued to converse for several minutes, none of them noticing the glares being directed at them from the Bulgarian Champion across the room.

-HP-

The Great Hall was buzzing with activity as the excitement of the Third Task seemed to infect every student that inhabited the castle. It was because of this that Harry decided to use his extensive knowledge of the secret passageways, to find his way out of the castle and to the Quidditch pitch.

His days up until that point had been one of the best he had had all year. The fact that Sirius and Remus were both here to support him had temporarily evaporated the nervousness that had permeated through his body ever since the Quidditch match the day before. As he got closer to the maze however, the nerves had come back tenfold.

Despite Hermione and Ron's persistence that he would do fine, he couldn't help but feel that something was off. Everything from Professor Moody, to Krum's behavior, to Cedric almost being thrown off his broom made it see that something big is about to happen.

Just outside the stands, the trio stopped before it was time for them to split up. The apprehension was clear on everyone's faces. Ron was the first to make his way to the viewing area, calling out a good luck to Harry as he went to sit with his family, who had also come to show their support.

Leaving just himself and Hermione, the two just stared at each other for several minutes. The fear in her eyes was as evident as his own fear probably was in his own eyes. Their expressions told them all they needed to know, before Hermione launched herself at him in one of her trademark hugs.

"Promise me you'll make it back."

Harry knew that despite what she said, she was just as apprehensive about the task as he was. Her fear for her best friend was never more evident as it was now. He wanted to promise that he would, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread he kept feeling.

"I'll try."

With that, she disengaged from him and took off towards the stands, not glancing back once. Harry knew that if she stopped, she'd never be able t go through with it and once again marveled at the courage of his best friend.

Entering the arena himself, Harry positioned himself at the second entrance to the maze right next to Krum, who seemed to be trying for a world record in scowling. To his right stood Cedric, who unlike the previous tasks, had found his nerve and appeared to be relatively calm in the face of the ensuing danger. He turned around to see Fleur approach and judging by the paleness of her face and was much like Harry, a nervous wreck. She too felt uneasy about all that had transpired before the task, to the point where she had all but abandoned trying to win and was just trying to survive.

She walked over to where he was standing, her features changing to a more determined expression.

"Good luck "Arry."

"Good luck to you too Fleur."

"I 'ope to see you after all zis is over", and to Harry's surprise she placed a quick kiss to his cheek. Blushing slightly, she then retreated to her spot before Harry could question her about it.

Ludo Bagman then made his way up to them before amplifying his voice to address the crowd.

"Tonight is the final task of the Triwizard tournament!" the statement was met by the thunderous roar of the crowd. After waiting for it to settle down after a few moments, he continued. "Tonight, our champions will have to navigate their way through the maze in order to reach their final goal. The Triwizard Cup!" The crowd cheered even louder at that and took much longer to settle down.

"The order our champions will enter the maze is as such. Viktor Krum and Harry Potter are tied for first and will enter the maze at the same time. Next in third place, Cedric Diggory will enter, followed finally by Fleur Delacour."

Harry briefly scanned the crowd and found the Weasley's sitting close to next to Remus and Padfoot, all of them smiling proudly at him. He specifically saw Ron, who gave him a quick thumbs up in an attempt to instill confidence. Obviously, it didn't work.

Next to him was the person he needed confidence from more than anyone. Hermione still had the look of fear n her face but it was now much more subdued. Noticing his gaze, she locked eyes with him and gave him a small smile. It was a small gesture but it was enough for him to divert his attention back to the maze in front of him.

"Mr. Krum. Mr. Potter. At the sound of the cannon you may enter the maze."

Not one moment later, the sound of a cannon blasted into the air, and Harry sped into the dark depths of the maze.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Alright, here we go! Next chapter is obviously the maze but I've added a few things to change things up but also to further future plot points that I have planned out.**_

 _ **As you might have noticed, I've portrayed Krum as a little more sinister than he is in the books. In my opinion, Krum is a very one dimensional character so I decided to change hi up to make it more interesting.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	20. The Third Task

Chapter 20 – The Third Task

A suffocating silence surrounded Harry as soon as the hedge closed up behind him. Turning around, he placed his hands on the section of hedge behind him. Unsurprisingly, the hedge was completely solid blocking any attempt at turning back the way he came.

"Guess I'm all in now"

His attention turned back to the expansive labyrinth in front of him. How was he supposed to find his way towards the middle of the maze and reach the cup? Even with the additional spells that he and his friends had worked on, a lot could go wrong at any point. Placing his wand flat on the palm of his hand, he tried out the first spell Hermione had taught him.

" _Point Me"_

The wand immediately rotated until it pointed out in front of him to what he already knew was north. He thanked her for the spell before starting his way further into the maze. If anyone could invent such a useful spell, it would be Hermione Granger.

Thus began the process of Harry traversing the maze for several minutes before stopping periodically to check that he was heading in the right direction. The sound of a cannon firing off alerted him to Cedric's entrance, but it was the sound of a second explosion that caught Harry off guard. Using the Four Point spell to determine his best choice of route, he determined it was in his best interest to head towards his left. This also happened to be the direction that the explosion had come from.

As soon as he turned the corner, he found himself face to face with a Blast-Ended Skrewt. The beast moved to clasp Harry with one of its claws, but Harry had already turned about and was sprinting away in the opposite direction. The sound of another explosion told him the Skrewt was in pursuit, so Harry began firing spells back at it.

" _Stupefy!"_

The spell merely bounced of the creatures shell and no matter what spell Harry threw at it, the Skrewt would not be deterred. Deciding that more radical tactics were called for, he decided that if he couldn't outrun it by following the path, then he would have to try a different method. Calling upon his enhanced reflexes, he turned around and charged at the giant hybrid. With one adept bound, he managed to dodge a swipe from one of its massive claws before leaping up onto its back. Using the Skrewt's shell as a landing, he leapt high above the beast and over into the adjacent section of maze.

Deciding now was an appropriate time to catch his breath, Harry stood there for several more seconds. It wasn't until the familiar sound of cannon fire shot out into the night, that he finally decided to press onward.

-HP-

Fleur raced into the maze, determined to not let her delayed entrance stop her from winning the cup. No rhyme or reason went into her path choice, she figured that as long as kept moving she'd eventually find her way to the end of it.

The sound of twigs snapping broke her from her sprint causing her to turn around and investigate the disturbance. The maze behind her was closing up behind her, threatening to crush her if she stayed within its path. Sprinting faster than ever, she managed to make it to a crossroads where the path divulged into three other paths, two of which were slowly closing as well.

Behind her the sound of rustling underbrush stopped. Turning around, she found that the path behind her was just as she left it. Deciding that her best option was to head straight, she turned back around only to find that all but the left most path had disappeared.

Seeing no other way forward, she followed the path for what seemed to be several long minutes. The eerie silence that surrounded the maze was as oppressive as ever, the only sounds radiating through the maze was the roars of various beasts housed within and the occasional sound of spell fire.

The returning sound of snapping twigs immediately raised alarms inside Fleur's head but when she investigated the hedge had no moved. Puzzled, she staid still for a few moments until she became aware that summer moon was no longer shining light onto her. The last thing Fleur had expected was o come face to face with a hungry acromantula straddling the tops of two adjacent hedges.

A quick stunning spell bought her a few precious seconds, allowing her to take off away from the arachnid but the ominous clicking of its pinchers told her that it was not too far behind. It seemed that there was no way she could outrun it with its ability to climb on top of the maze. The French champion also noticed that she was beginning to tire.

She nearly sent up red sparks into the sky to save herself, but the sound of the hedges moving finally gave her an idea. Finding the energy to push on, Fleur made it to a section that wasn't changing and turn around to face the spider.

" _Depulso!_ "

The banishing charm knocked the Acromantula back several feet back into the shifting hedgerows. After it regained its balance, it began to charge at her once again but was unable to make it out before the walls of the maze were upon it. The only sound that her plan had worked was a high pitched shriek from the creature as it was crushed by the maze itself.

-HP-

"Oh Bloody Hell!"

Though Harry was successful at dodging another attempt by the maze to crush him, he had failed to notice that a sphynx had crossed his path. The majestic beast was as wide as the path, making getting passed it impossible.

"To get by me, you'll have to answer my riddle. If you guess correctly, I'll let you pass. Guess incorrectly, I'll attack. Choose not to guess and I'll let you leave here."

Despite his reluctance to participate in the sphynx's game, the most direct path towards the cup was passed it. A quick recasting of the Four Point Spell confirmed his suspicion so Harry begrudgingly decided to play along.

"Okay. What's the riddle?"

"I can fly like a bird not in the sky, which can always swim and can always dry. I say goodbye at night and morning hi. I'm part of you what am I. I follow and lead as you pass, dress yourself in black my darkness lasts. I flee the light but without the sun, your view of me would be gone."

Harry stood in thought trying to decipher the riddle for what felt like several minutes.

"What flies but isn't in the sky and can swim but remain dry?"

He wracked his brain for a possible solution but he seemed unable to come up with a reasonable answer.

"Do you have a guess?!" cried the sphynx impatiently. Judging by the look in its eyes, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if tit lunged at him for taking too longer.

"Give me a minute!" Turning his gaze to the sky, he stared at the moon for several seconds before a light bulb went off in his head. Looking at the ground behind him, he finally figured out the riddle.

"It's a shadow."

The sphynx looked quite unhappy by that answer, had he not guessed right?

"That is correct human. You may pass." Leaping off of the path Harry continued forward putting as much distance between himself and the irate creature as possible. Cursing himself for being caught off guard twice now, Harry decided to use his senses to his advantage. Though his hearing wasn't his most gifted attribute, he figured that it would do the job well enough to tell him if there were any other surprises nearby.

Quieting his breathing, he focused on all the sounds around him which in turn only made him more aware of how alone he was. He had almost decided that I was safe to continue before when a sound caught his attention. He paled at the implications of what the sound could possibly be. They wouldn't put something like that in here, right?

-HP-

Not only was the howl heard by all those inside the maze, but they had also pierced through and made it to the stands just outside the entrance. Upon hearing it, Hermione started to fear for the worst. Glancing at the moon, even though she knew that the full moon was still days off but Harry always struggled with control leading up to it.

' _Had Harry lost control of himself in the maze?'_

The rest of the crowd seemed to have taken no notice to the howl coming from the maze. A lot of sounds and roars had come from the maze in the half an hour that the task had taken place and it seemed that few people realized what it really meant. She looked to her right and made eye contact with Ron, who had a similarly shocked expression on his face. She knew that his thoughts weren't much different from hers.

"You don't think that he-"

Ron was cut off by the sound of more howling. In fact this time it sounded like a dozen howls were coming from somewhere within the maze. With fire in her eyes, Hermione made her way off of the stands and began searching for someone who could answer her questions. After several minutes, Hagrid had made his way back to the starting area during his patrol of the maze, fear and nervousness apparent on his face.

"What were you thinking Hagrid?"

Hagrid was startled by Hermione's sudden approach. He did manage to school his features to a normal expression before answering her question.

"What do'ya mean?"

"Putting something like that in the maze."

The argument began to get quite loud and many people had begun to watch what was happening in front of the maze instead of the maze itself. The task itself wasn't the most thrilling thing to watch, as all the ground could do was wait until someone exited the maze, and they were glad that something was able to occupy their attention. One person who too particular interest in the argument was the Headmaster.

"What is going on here Miss Granger?"

Whirling on Dumbledore, Hermione turned her ire towards the head of school now. "How could allow such creatures to be put in the maze?"

"Whatever do you mean Miss Granger?"

"Werewolves." It was the only word that escaped her lips and Dumbledore immediately understood her implications.

"I can assure you that I did not permit such a danger to befall any of the champions."

"Well then how did they get in there?"

Both turned their heads to Hagrid who immediately raised his hands in an attempt to defend himself.

"I didn' do it. I would never let werewolves anywhere near a student." He paused for a second while both Hermione and Dumbledore lessened their accusatory gaze before continuing. "The only thing I can think of is that they might've came in through the forest. The maze stretches beyond the pitch and borders it. They might've somehow climbed in from there."

Before he could explain any further, the sky was illuminated as red sparks rained down from the sky signifying that one of the champions had opted out. She could only hope that it wasn't Harry and he wasn't extremely hurt.

-HP-

" _Reducto!_ "

Fleur just barely managed to dodge the spell leaving a large scorch mark where her head once occupied. After dealing with the Acromantula, she later encountered a boggart, and met a mist that was designed to disorient her. Neither were able to halt her progress for long. That is until she ran into fellow champion Cedric Diggory.

"Cedric! What are you doing?"

As soon as he had seen her, the Hogwarts champion began throwing curses at her left and right, curses that were definitely more lethal than most would deem appropriate for such an encounter. She seemed unable to go on the offensive the constant stream of spells the Cedric used was keeping her from retaliating and until unless she could, it was only a matter of time before she slipped up and lost.

Another blasting hex was fired at her but instead hit the ground in front of her. Fleur covered her face from the debris but wasn't able to block the next spell that was sent her way.

" _Crucio!_ "

It seemed like her skin was being prodded by a thousand knives as the curse took hold of her. She was unable to stop the scream that exploded out of her lungs and found herself on the floor of the maze thrashing about. The world faded away as all that existed was pain and the hope that her suffering would end.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind that she faintly heard a grunt before the effects of the curse dissipated. Chancing a glance back at her attacker, she was surprised to see that someone else had shown up and was now dueling Cedric. One look at the figures unruly black hair and she knew that it was Harry.

The two traded spells for several seconds, Cedric using a considerable amount of energy by blocking all of Harry's spells with Shield Charms while Harry merely dodged out of the way.

" _Stupefy!"_

" _Stupefy!"_

" _Expelliarmus!"_

Harry's Disarming spell did the trick, sending Cedric's wand flying from his hand. The older boy was shocked at first and watched his wand sail away behind him. Turning back to his opponent, he managed to see Harry cast a Body-Bind Curse on him before going rigid and falling flat on the ground.

With the immediate danger now passed, Harry offered Fleur a hand up which she gratefully took.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be. Zank you 'Arry from stopping him. I'm not sure how much longer I could've endured zat."

She saw Harry glance back at the other champion for a moment before looking back at Fleur.

"I can't understand why Cedric would do something like that. I mean…he always seemed like a nice guy."

"Somezing was wrong with him. His eyes didn't look normal." She thought about what it could possible mean until one of the lessons from her classes came back to her. "It was almost as if 'e was Imperiused."

Harry's eyes widened at that. "Why would someone want to Imperius Cedric?"

A rustling sound behind them caught their attention. Looking at where Cedric's body was, they saw that vine were protruding from the bottom of the maze and were beginning to snake themselves around him.

"Devil's Snare."

Fleur began trying, unsuccessfully, to cast a spell that mimicked sunlight while Harry sent red sparks into the air. They tried to keep the vines from constricting around Cedric until the silhouette of Professor McGonagall appeared overhead.

-HP-

Deciding it was best if they tried to stick together, Harry and Fleur continued on their way towards the center of the maze. Harry quickly taught Fleur the Four Point Spell so that she could check their bearings while Harry tried to detect if any other creatures were nearby.

They continued walking for what seemed like an eternity, comfortable that they were no longer alone for the task. It was during this silence that Harry's thoughts turned to what had happened. It seemed oddly suspicious that within days of each other, someone would try to knock Cedric off of his broom and Imperius him. Something else that had caught his attention was that the spells Cedric used were as dangerous as the one's he used against Fleur.

Almost as if he didn't want to hurt Harry.

A familiar scent found its way to Harry's nostrils causing him to tense up and prepare for any danger. He recognized the smell as that of Krum but he didn't see him anywhere around him. Not wanting to chance another meeting with a fellow champion he urged Fleur forward but after a few steps a voice rang out from an adjacent path.

" _Bombarda!_ "

The spell knocked both Harry and Fleur back, her hitting the ground while Harry was knocked into the hedge behind him. The second his back connected with, vine started to slither their way across his body holding his wand arm and his torso firmly in place.

Krum stepped through the hole in the maze strutting as if he had just been named Minister of Magic. Seeing Harry in his predicament, he walked over to him and couldn't resist taunting him.

"Look who has the best of you now Mr. Potter." Harry reached out with his free hand to try and grab at Krum but the older student was just out of his reach. This only seemed to bring more amusement to the Bulgarian. "If only Hermy-own-ninny could see you like this, maybe she wouldn't be as fond of you."

"Leave her alone you bastard!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I also can't leave you here to rot. There is much that you still must do." Turning towards Fleur, an evil smile grew on Krum's face. "Her however…she is not needed."

By this point Fleur was up with her wand ready. Krum began firing spells at her at an alarming rate yet Fleur managed to hold her ground against him. She was exhausted though and t wouldn't be long before Krum had the upper hand.

Harry struggled with all his might to get himself free. His left arm was still free but the more he struggled with his right arm, the tighter the vines constricted around it. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring a knife. That was when an idea popped into his head.

Focusing on his left hand, his finger nails began extending into claws. Soon they were long and sharp enough that he was able to cut himself free from his restraints.

The duel between Fleur and Krum was still going on and neither of them seemed to have noticed that Harry had freed himself. They continued to duel even as the sounds of the maze beginning to change started to spill out. Hearing a change behind him, Harry turned to see that the path behind him had opened up behind him leading directly to the Triwizard Cup. Another idea popped into his head as he raised his wand at the Krum.

" _Depulso!_ "

The spell sent Krum flying backwards away from the others and the cup. He didn't stay down for long and was quickly back up on his feet. He began to run back towards Harry and Fleur but the shifting of the maze blocked off the path in front of him, saving the two.

Harry looked to Fleur and noticed she was staring at the cup. Even though he himself wanted to win, he knew how important this was to Fleur and that was all the reason he needed to come up with a decision.

"You should take the cup Fleur?" The questioning look he got from Fleur was his cue to elaborate further. "It's not like I need any more fame."

"But you saved me from both Cedric and Krum. You deserve it."

"No you had the harder job. You held them off and stood toe to toe with them. I just came in and finished them off." Fleur nodded her head in affirmative, thankful that he was willing to give this up for her.

" _Fiendfyre!_ "

The shout from behind them startled the pair but nothing could compare to the sight of a giant magic flame radiating from where they just left Krum. The flame began to spread through the maze engulfing all the hedgerows in its destructive wake.

Sensing the danger, both Harry and Fleur took off towards the cup. As he ran, Harry became vaguely aware that it seemed all the teachers who were patrolling the maze were now circling overhead. The thought was comforting to him but something Krum said didn't seem quite right.

' _There is still much you have to do'_

All the pieces seemed to fall into place. Cedric using lethal spell on Fleur. Krum's word. Cedric's broom being cursed.

It was an attempt to get rid of his competition.

Seeing Fleur begin to reach for the cup as they got closer set off alarms inside Harry's head.

"Fleur! No!"

He reached out and grabbed her arm at the same time she grabbed the cup. He felt the familiar pull at his navel and then, they were gone.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hey it's been awhile. With my finals coming taking place last week, I didn't really have much time write as much as I wanted to. I hope to have forth year done by the end of the year.**_

 _ **I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. I tried to do the maze justice by adding my own spin on evens, changing others and what not. The next chapter is the revival of Voldemort which will be fun and after that is the turning point when the story will start to get more AU.\**_

 _ **As Always thanks for reading.**_


	21. The Graveyard

Chapter 21 – The Graveyard

Harry painfully collided with the ground again temporarily stunting his senses. Once he realized that both the Imperiused Cedric and Krum weren't trying to kill him but herd towards the cup, he tried to stop Fleur from grabbing it. He was too late and they both were sucked away from the maze.

Getting his wits about him, he inhaled the scent of where they landed which only confirmed his suspicions that this wasn't Hogwarts. Mixed in with the scent of his surroundings, he picked up on two other scents. Though he didn't immediately recognize them it was obvious that they weren't friendly.

Hearing Fleur stirring next to him, Harry willed himself to his feet and found himself standing inside a graveyard. The surrounding tombstones did nothing to settle his already heightened nerves.

"Are you alright Fleur?"

"Oui." Her eyes were still closed, one hand rubbing the back of her head where she had made contact with the ground. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to say that this isn't part of the task." Looking at the many tombstones that surrounded them, Harry didn't find any names that would pinpoint them to where they were.

"I 'ave a very bad feeling about zis."

Harry couldn't agree more. He continued his search of the tombstones until his eyes fell upon a large tombstone that read

HERE LIES

TOM RIDDLE

"Fleur we need to get back to the cup!"

"What's wrong?" She looked at the tombstone that caused Harry's outburst but it didn't help her confusion at all.

"Because think Voldemort is here!"

The sound of footsteps alerted Harry to another presence among them. Looking to the direction it had come from, he saw the silhouette of Wormtail approaching with a small bundle of robe in his arms.

"Now!"

" _Kill the spare!"_

" _Avada Kedavra_!"

Harry immediately tackled Fleur out of the way, the jet of green just barely missing them as thy tumbled to the ground.

"Go get help, I'll try to hold him off!"

"Non! I won't leave you!"

She stood her ground, refusing to abandon him in this fight. Sensing that she wouldn't go willingly decide that it was futile. They both began to return fire, firing every spell and hex they knew back at their attacker. Though he wasn't able to retaliate from their dual assault, they were unable to penetrate any of the shields he threw up to block them.

Motion on the ground to his left caught Harry's attention just in time to see a large snake coil up and strike at Fleur. Thinking quickly he shoved Fleur out of the way, and towards the cup. This had only bought them a second as the snake began to recover.

"Fleur there's no time. You have to go get Dumbledore! Tell him we're in a graveyard where-AHHH!"

The snake had struck again this time latching onto Harry's arm and constricting itself around his torso. Finally seeing that they were outnumbered, Fleur Reluctantly grabbed onto the cup and was whisked away from the graveyard. Harry managed a brief smile before there was a flash of red and everything went dark.

-HP-

The smell of smoke brought Harry back to consciousness. As his brain tried to right itself, Harry noticed that he couldn't move his arms. Opening his eyes, he realized that he was upright, the ropes were not only keeping him from escaping but also holding him up against what he assumed was a gravestone.

His confusion dissipated as the moments before he blacked out came back to him and it was only then that he noticed that Wormtail was tending to a simmering cauldron in front him.

"Traitor!"

Startled, Wormtail whipped his wand around, causing a gash to magically appear across Harry's chest. Harry kept the scream inside, not wanting to give the man responsible for ratting out his parents the satisfaction.

" _Wormtail you fool! He must be kept alive!"_

The voice was shrill, one that Harry had only heard in his first year and in his nightmares. Searching for Voldemort, the only place Harry would determine the voice came from was the bundle lying on the ground _._

" _Now Wormtail!"_

Picking up the bundle, he unwrapped it to reveal the most grotesque creature Harry had ever seen. It was then dropped into the cauldron and Harry was filled with the desire for the thing to drown.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you shall resurrect your son." A bone from the grave which Harry stood on flew u out of the ground and into the cauldron. This only caused to boil even more. To his horror, Wormtail then brandished a knife.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you shall resurrect your master!" With a howl of pain, he sliced of his hand, falling into the cauldron causing more of a disturbance. He then turned to Harry. He approached with the knife brandished. At first he seemed to ponder on taking blood from either his arm or chest, but not before an evil grin crossed his face.

"Blood of the enemy, forcefully take, you shall resurrect your foe." The knife cut through his forearm but Harry had little time to pay attention to the injury as Wormtail dropped the blood into the cauldron.

At first nothing happened, making Harry hope that Pettigrew had somehow messed up. He was proven wrong when the content of the cauldron suddenly burst forth and shrouding it in a cloud of smoke.

A few seconds later a figure was evident through the smoke. As it cleared Harry finally saw the pair of eyes that had haunted his dreams for many years.

Lord Voldemort had returned.

-HP-

 _ **~Earlier~**_

The crowd outside the maze waited patiently for the winner of the task to be revealed. Hermione had watched a both Cedric and Krum were removed from the maze but there was still no sign of Harry and Fleur. A flash of light moments ago signaled that someone had made it to the cup, making Hermione nervous as to who made it out okay. The crows waited with bated breath but the last two champions had yet to arrive.

Adding to Hermione's anxiety was the conditions which both Cedric and Krum exited the maze. Cedric was definitely worse for wear, if the distant look in his eyes was any indication, his clothes and exposed skin were torn to near shambles.

Though Krum wasn't nearly as bad, he still had sustained some level of injury. What was truly unnerving was the self-accomplished grin on his face which set her even more on edge.

Time seemed to drag on ever slowly as it became apparent that the absence of Harry and Fleur was not a part of the task. Seeking answers, Professor Dumbledore strode towards Cedric and Krum shortly after they both were released from the medical tent.

"What happened inside the maze?" Neither chose to answer though it was evident that while Cedric's silence was due to confusion, Krum did know something about what happened inside the maze. Dumbledore turned his gaze towards the Bulgarian student. "The staff patrolling the maze said that they saw Fiendfyre inside of it. Why would you consider conjured it Mr. Krum? Have you no concern for the lives of the other Champions"

Hermione gasped at the mention of Fiendfyre. She had rea about it before and knew that it was an extremely difficult and equally as deadly spell that few dared to use. Why would either Cedric or Krum us it?

Krum seemed to have little concern for the questions directed at him. His only response was to look Dumbledore straight in the eye and say, "I vanted to vin."

Though he wasn't exactly thrilled by this answer, Dumbledore sensed that prying further would accomplish little. He instead decided to turn his attention to the other champion.

"What about you Mr. Diggory?"

"I'm not sure Professor. I remember making my way to the Quidditch Pitch and," he closed his eyes, as if trying to pull out a distant memory before his face relaxed a little, "The next thing I know, I'm waking up in the medical tent."

"That is fine Mr. Diggory. It seems that sometime before you made it to the maze, you were placed under the Imperius Curse. Understand that you had no control of your actions."

A flash of light in front of the maze caught everyone's attention as Fleur Delacour landed with the Triwizard cup in hand. The crowd immediately began cheering, the loudest of which came from the Beauxbaton section, but Hermione immediately sensed that something was wrong.

She made her way from the stands towards the French girl, Ron following her in her wake. As she got closer, she noticed that the girl was covered in what appeared to be someone else's blood. The words that she heard come out of her mouth startled her and everyone else in attendance.

"Voldemort 'as 'Arry!"

"What do you mean Miss Delacour?"

"Ze cup was a portkey that took 'Arry and I into a trap. Someone he called Wormtail was zere and he zought Voldemort was zere two."

Upon hearing this, many of the nearby teachers along with Remus and Padfoot came to offer aid as Dumbledore tried to get a handle on the situation. Fleur appeared jittery, every movement around her caused her to trace her wand on it in her adrenaline fueled state.

"Fleur?"

She turned towards Hermione's voice and instinctively lowered her wand. Hermione could see the worry in her eyes and had no doubt that Fleur could see the same look in her eyes, but she had to ask…

"Is Harry going to be alright?"

Fleur seemed lost by the questions. Hermione saw a dozen different responses cross her face but she could tell that Fleur was as helpless as she was.

"I'm not sure."

Hermione instantly ran towards the girl and enveloped her in a hug. She knew that Fleur was the only person who was anywhere near as close to Harry as she was, and the doubt in Fleur's voice nearly broke her.

Seeing the fear in the two girls' eyes, Ron stepped forward. "Of Course Harry will be alright. He always get himself into and outta things like this."

Ron's optimism caused Hermione to chuckle. She was grateful that he was trying to remain optimistic but it was hard for her to do the same. She had always feared for when Harry's luck would run out.

Fleur suddenly released herself from Hermione's grip, brandishing her wand at Cedric who was attempting to console her.

"You attacked us. I should 'ex you for trying to injure me and Harry."

Hermione sensing that with Fleur in her current state of mind, she might follow through with her threat. "Fleur it's okay. Cedric was Imperiused. He didn't know what he was doing."

She lowered her wand, albeit very hesitantly, before exhaling.

"I'm sorry for what I might've done to you in the maze Fleur. I can't express how sorry I am."

"I forgive you Cedric." Looking around the crowd she noticed that Krum was noticeably absent. "Krum on the other hand, I won't hesitate to hurt for almost burning us alive. Where is he?"

"I had Alastor take me aside to further question him on his actions."

Dumbledore approached with both Remus and Padfoot in tow. "Now Miss Delacour, I must ask you if you have any knowledge of where you and Mr. Potter were taken."

"I'm not sure sir. We were transported to a graveyard were it seemed like a ritual was being prepared." She tried to remember any detail that might prove useful but her mind was a mess from her nerves. "The only thing I remember is that one of the tombstones had the name Tom Riddle on it."

"Tom Riddle? Are you sure?" At her nod a relieved look crossed the Headmaster's face as he waved his wand in the direction of the castle. It was a few moments before a bird cry drew everyone's attention to the approach of Fawkes the Phoenix.

"I believe I have an idea on how to rescue Harry."

-HP-

"Harry! I almost forgot you were here."

Voldemort's attention was now away from his followers and now was focused in on his nemesis. Harry tried to struggle further, hoping that even if he was seen getting loose that the surprise would give him enough of an advantage to try and flee. No matter how hard he tried the ropes refused to budge, but would burn his scald his skin from the friction. Even worse was the fact that he couldn't cut through the ropes as he couldn't will his claws to extend.

"Trying to escape Harry? Escape is folly, especially since your bindings are laced with Wolfsbane." He smiled at the shocked look on Harry's face, "Yes, I know your secret Harry Potter. My loyal servant at Hogwarts did more than bring you here. He also informed me of your condition."

The circle of Death Eaters laughed at Harry's condition, just another reason for them to hate the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Pity that there is now no room for you in our new world order. Even if you were a half-blood you could've been a nice addition to my ranks."

With a swish of the wand, the ropes all fell from Harry's sides causing him to crash to the ground unexpectedly.

"We cannot allow such filth to join us, so I'm sorry to say that you won't be leaving the home of my father Harry."

Another swish and Harry crashed back into the tombstone he was just tied to causing his head to swim. Voldemort seemed to be enjoying himself with his slow onslaught. The thought that Voldemort had used his blood in the ritual brought a tiny glimmer of hope to Harry.

"Well it looks like you're one too Tom. Since you used my blood to come back." The answering cackle from the Dark Lord was not the answer that Harry was expecting, making him nervous that he wasn't wrong.

"You think that I would use such a ritual if it tainted my blood? Why don't you use your senses and see for yourself."

Inhaling the air around him, the truth hit Harry like an oncoming hippogriff. Voldemort didn't smell like Remus or himself did, which could only mean that he wasn't a werewolf.

"Using your blood did have one benefit however." Launching forward so that he was right in front of Harry, "I can touch you now!" He then prodded Harry right on top of his scar, causing a wave of absolute pain to shoot through Harry's head, making it seem like his head would split in two. After several moments, Voldemort released Harry causing him to crumble into a heap on the ground.

"Give him his wand Wormtail! I wish to prove to all that Harry Potter is not the savior the world believes him to be."

With his wand lying a foot in front of him, Harry pushed the pain to the back of his mind and stood to face his long-time enemy.

"I presume you've been taught how to duel. First we bow." When Harry refused, Voldemort's anger seemed to get the best of him. ""I. Said. Bow!"

A voice in his head told him to bow and his body began to follow the foreign instruction. Realizing that it the Imperius Curse, Harry focused his mind on disobeying the command and was eventually able to throw it off.

" _Crucio!_ "

Before Harry could acknowledge his victory, pin once again wracked his entire body. It felt like a hundred knives were prodding him all at the same time, yet he refused to cry out in pain.

After applying the curse for nearly a minute, Voldemort released it giving Harry the opportunity to dive behind a few tombstones and hide from his adversary.

"Come back out here Harry Potter. I want to look you in the eyes as I kill you!"

He tried to come up with some sort of strategy that would help him survive. He thought about charging at Voldemort and hoping that his abilities would allow him to overpower the dark wizard but he quickly realized the folly in that situation.

Resigning himself to his fate, he decided that if he was going to die, he wasn't going to go down hiding. Readying himself, he stepped back out into the fight. With a smirk Voldemort then raised his wand to deliver the killing blow.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

The spells collided in mid-air, an orb forming in the center which crackled like electricity. The orb also gave of a gold radiant dome, almost like a cage allowing none to leave it or enter.

Harry's wand grew hot in his hand and despite not understanding what was happening, he knew that he had to hold the connection or die. Both wizards struggled to win this battle as the orb began to slowly move towards Harry. Sensing its importance, Harry willed power into his wand and slowly but surely, the orb began to move back towards Voldemort.

Try as he might, Voldemort couldn't prevent the orb from reaching his wand causing more light to erupt from its tip. From it came out four spectral figures, one of an elderly man, the other of a relatively young women. It was the apparitions of his mother and father that caught his attention.

"Harry! When we say so you must break the connection but only when we say so."

Harry desperately wanted to say something to his father but he couldn't find his voice, so instead he simply nodded at his command.

"Sweetheart," his mother began, "We couldn't be any more proud of you. It's almost time."

A familiar screeching sound came from overhead, causing Harry to look up and see Fawkes flying towards him. He immediately understood that this was his way out and returned his focus back to Voldemort.

"Now!"

Sharply pulling his wand upwards, Harry broke the connection before reaching up to grab onto Fawkes' tail feathers while the apparitions distracted Voldemort as they returned to his wand. The instant his hand grasped the feathers, he disappeared in a ball of fire.

-HP-

Harry landed back in front of the maze and was almost instantaneously met by Ron, Hermione, and Fleur.

"Harry, thanks heavens you're alright."

Hermione wrapped him in a massive hug causing Harry to groan out from the pressure.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Harry."

Despite his discomfort, he managed a reassuring smile as Ron lightly patted him on the back.

"Blimey mate, it's good to see you made it back."

The two helped him up to his feet allowing Harry the opportunity to glance around at the people around him. He scanned the crowd until his eyes fell upon the figures of Krum and Professor Moody, each with a neutral expression on their faces.

"It's wonderful to see you back in one piece Mr. Potter, but I must ask you if you can tell me what happened."

"Voldemort's back."

The crowd around them gasped in shock, some in complete disbelief and others from the implications of his words. Though instantly believed that Harry was telling the truth, there were those among them who refused to believe that such a thing was even possible.

Cedric couldn't believe what he was hearing. Though he found it hard to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, he never considered Harry a liar and determined that he wouldn't be lying about this.

"Are you sure Harry?"

"Yes sir. He also said that he has servants working for him from inside Hogwarts."

Almost as if on cue, a struggle gasp came from the direction of Mad-Eye Moody. As the mobs attention shifted to the Professor's discomfort, they all watched before their very eyes as his feature began to contort and change until Harry recognized the man from one of his dreams.

"Barty Crouch Jr."

Dumbledore instantly strode forward with wand in hand to apprehend the Azkaban escapee. A dozen or so other wands were also trained on the man but Crouch didn't seem to notice. He grinned evilly as if all was still going according to plan.

While all eyes were on the man who was Professor Moody, Cedric caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking away from the group, he saw Krum moving forward, his wand trained on Harry.

"Harry look out!"

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Harry felt someone shove himself, Ron, and Hermione over as a green light passed nearby them. His impact on the ground caused his eyes to swim, but he was able to hear the sound of various shouts from all the witnesses. Once his vision cleared up, the scene Harry saw in front of him was one that would haunt him for a long time.

Cedric Diggory was lying dead a few feet away, with no sign of Crouch or Krum anywhere nearby.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Ha! I bet some of you thought I wouldn't kill off Cedric. Though I thought about keeping him around, I realized that his death had had a great impact on Harry in the canon. The way that I do it here makes it a little more personal for Harry.**_

 _ **The hardest thing about this chapter was trying to do the graveyard scene enough justice, without bogging it down with a lot of stuff that we already know about. With both Krum and Crouch both working for Voldemort and both on the run, their characters will become important again later.**_

 _ **There's about one chapter left in this part of the story and I hope to get it done in about a week or so.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for Reading.**_


	22. Atlas

Chapter 22 – Atlas

As Dumbledore stood in front of the Great Hall delivering a heartfelt service in memory of Cedric, Harry could help but notice the similarities between the end of this year and he last. Feeling alone during the farewell feast after another stressful year, last year because of his curse and this year because of Voldemort's return.

He hoped that maybe next year wouldn't be nearly as difficult as the last two years were, but Harry knew that he shouldn't hold his breath. The fall out of Cedric's murder brought about a number of life changing events. Easily the most evident of these came when he was awoken in the hospital wing the morning after the task…

 __ _ **Flashback**_ __

 _As Harry started to rouse from his sleep, he became aware of a commotion going on in his room. His first instinct was to open his eyes and investigate the disturbance, but he thought better of it when it became clear that the conversation that woke him wasn't a very controlled one._

" _Now see here Dumbledore… you've given me no evidence to prove your suspicions. I will not be plunging our world back into chaos over something such as rumor and here say."_

" _Cornelius, it is clear that something happened last night. Something that would be foolish for us to ignore."_

 _The voices were getting louder, meaning either the conversation was getting more heated or they were getting closer. Harry was able to deduce that if the Minister and Dumbledore were getting closer, they would obviously want to ask questions._

" _I sent Aurors to investigate the area where you found the boy and the search turned brought about nothing."_

" _Only because you waited to send your Aurors until an hour after Harry was recovered."_

" _Are you trying to imply anything Dumbledore?!"_

" _No minister. I'm simply saying that if you would've been prompt with the investigation-"_

" _Based only on the word of a fourteen year old boy who is a known-"_

" _Is something wrong Minister?"_

 _Harry's sudden entrance into the conversation surprised both men, but Fudge managed to school his face despite himself._

" _Harry m'boy! The Headmaster and I have a few questions regarding what happened in the maze last night."_

 _Thus Harry recounted everything he could remember from when he and Fleur grabbed the cup until his return back to Hogwarts. Throughout the tale, the Minister's face was slowly changing to one of annoyance. To him the story seemed outrageous, You-Know-Who was dead so he couldn't possibly be responsible for what happened._

 _"Professor? What I don't understand is what Krum and Professor Moody have to do with this."_

" _First of Harry, the man you knew as Professor Moody was in fact not him," a look of shame crossed the old wizards face. Inside he knew that his failure to spot the imposter was the reason for Harry's capture," The man you knew was Barty Crouch Jr. who imprisoned Alastor in a trunk all year so that he could Polyjuice as him. He's the one who placed the cup within the maze, allowing him to change the destination of the portkey and lead you to Voldemort." If Dumbledore saw that the annoyed look of Fudge's face had returned, he didn't acknowledge it. "From there he recruited Krum and Imperiused Mr. Diggory in an effort to make sure you made it to the cup."_

 _Fudge decided now that it was his turn to step forward and voice his opinion on the events of the previous night._

" _See there Harry. It was those two who were responsible for what happened to you, not You-Know-Who. You had to deal with a great bit of trauma last night, so you only thought that you saw him. Stress can cause the mind to see very strange things after all."_

" _But I did fight him Minister. How else would I get all these injuries if it wasn't him?"_

" _The task itself was very dangerous. It's more likely that you encountered some beast than fought the Dark Lord."_

" _I saw him! He's back! And his followers had returned to him. Lucius Malfoy was there. So was Nott, Crabbe, Goyle-"_

 _This brought out the Minister's fury. "Now see here Mr. Potter, all those men are upstanding citizens. You can't simply go throwing around accusations like that without proof."_

 _Fudge's mind was whirling. Somewhere deep down he feared that maybe the boy was right but he simply refused to believe. He searched for any other alternative until he seemingly put two and two together._

" _I see what you're doing. You're trying to destroy the names of our society's finest citizens. You want to topple our very way of life. I should say I'm not surprised, given…what you are. Either way I won't stand for any of this." He turned and seemed ready to leave but stopped after only a few steps. He begrudgingly turned around and pulled a sack of coins from his robes. "Oh yes, here's your winnings Mr. Potter." Without another word he strolled purposefully from the Hospital Wing._

 _Harry couldn't believe what he just heard. That man was willing to hide his head in the sand than accept the truth that Voldemort had returned. One thing he said did cause Harry some concern._

" _What did he mean by 'what I am' Professor?"_

 _Dumbledore seemed to shrink even more within himself at these words. Grappling with the best way to handle the situation, he simply motioned to a copy of the Daily Prophet which sat at Harry's bedside. Picking up the paper, another of Harry's wort fears was realized. Atop the paper in bold letters, read the headline:_

 _Harry Potter Revealed As A Werewolf!_

 _ **Flashback End**_ __

The entire school seemed to be avoiding him like the plague, as if all of a sudden he was going to lose it and attack them. Never mind that he had now lived with them for four years without any sort of thing happening. What bothered him more was that it seemed like all eyes were on him, even more so than usual. Most wizards were brought up raised that werewolves were nothing but mindless animals that would bite you as soon as look at you.

Sighing heavily to himself, Harry excused himself quickly from the hall once Dumbledore had finished the eulogy. He needed fresh air, so he decided that a short walk out on the grounds would do him good. It didn't help any that he could smell the apprehension and fear on every to the point that it was nauseating.

He began to cross the grounds towards his usual spot along the Black Lake, underneath a lone tree, when he heard a voice behind him.

"It's difficult, non?"

He turned around to find Fleur approaching him. Even though he had expressed his desire to be alone, he couldn't help but feel relief at her presence.

"It's not the stares that bother me, I've dealt with that my entire time in school. It's the emotion behind those stares. Everyone is either afraid of me or disgusted by what I am."

"'Arry. You still 'ave people who look past what you are. Ron, Neville, many of the teachers…, 'Ermione."

Harry noticed the pause at Hermione's name but decided that it wasn't important enough to question. He knew that he still had a lot of people who supported him, but it didn't diminish the fact that the overwhelming majority of students now saw him as some kind of dark creature.

"How do you deal with it Fleur?"

"Moi? I simply ignore all zose bigots. I prove to zem zat I am better than zeir prejudices."

"If only it were that easy."

An awkward silence settled between them, Fleur sensing that her words did little to help and Harry not wanting to go any further.

"I will be leaving shortly after ze feast." Harry finally looked up and met her eyes and for the first time he noticed how entrancing her deep blue eyes truly were. "I will miss you 'Arry."

"I'll miss you too Fleur."

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, in truth he was the first real friend that she had gained outside anyone from her immediate family. Disengaging her arms so she could pull back to look back in his eyes, Harry noticed that she seemed to be pondering something.

"It seems zat I 'aven't zanked you for saving my life once again."

"It was nothing Fleur. Really. There's no need to thank me."

Instead of trying to argue with him over his heroics, she leaned forward a place a brief, chaste kiss on his lips.

"Au revior "Arry." She turned and began to head towards the Beauxbatons carriage, leaving Harry with a goofy grin on his face. Maybe his future didn't look so bad after all.

 _The future._

His smile disappeared instantly as another memory from earlier that morning was brought back to the forefront,

 __ _ **Flashback**_ __

 _After finding out that his secret was out in the open, Dumbledore had Harry released from the Hospital Wing and brought to his office. Judging by the look on Dumbledore's face, he wasn't going to give good news in this meeting._

 _When they entered the office, both were surprised to see a large black dog waiting on them._

" _Sirius, I thought I had instructed you to make arrangements ready for the old crowd. What are you doing here?"_

" _You tell me that you have to tell Harry something that is important for him to fight Voldemort and you expect me to just leave?"_

" _You're leaving Padfoot?"_

 _Sirius' conflicting emotions were evident on his face. He didn't want to abandon Harry but Dumbledore convinced him that it was necessary._

" _I'd never abandon you Harry. I'm sorry that I haven't been around but I promise we'll see each other soon."_

 _Harry nodded, even though deep down, he was truly hurt over the whole thing. He felt a little better that Sirius stuck around long enough to support him now, but it was a hollow feeling. Sensing defeat, Dumbledore figured that Sirius would learn about this conversation soon enough and decided to continue._

" _I'm sorry for what you had to go through last night Harry. You must've no doubt been very brave to confront the Dark Lord. I had hoped that we would have at least another few years before we would have to have this conversation. With Voldemort's return already a burden on you…I am sorry Harry."_

" _Sorry for what sir?"_

" _For placing on you, the greatest of burdens."_

 _With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore's pensieve flew from one of the cabinets onto his desk. Bringing the tip of his wand to his forehead, he pulled out a silvery strand and placed it into the basin._

 _Dumbledore then began to recount the tale of how he had stumbled upon a prophecy while interviewing an applicant for a Divination Professor. With another wave of his wand, the form of a younger Professor Trelawney rose out of the pensieve and recited the prophecy._

 _ **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...**_

 _Harry wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about all of this. How could a supposed prophecy from someone he considered a fraud be the reason for most of the hardship in his life._

" _So what you're saying is that Voldemort wants to kill me because one of us has to kill the other?" At Dumbledore's no, he thought about what he had just heard further. If the prophecy was given to Dumbledore, then…_

" _How did Voldemort find out about the prophecy sir?"_

" _It was overheard by a young Death Eater. Thankfully Voldemort only heard the first part and has never heard the whole thing."_

 _Harry looked over at Sirius, his godfather was at a loss of words. What was just revealed made him even more ashamed for not being there for his godson, his eyes tearing up at the thought. Harry wasn't fairing much better, but he needed to know the answer to what he considered to be the most important question._

" _Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _Dumbledore seemed defeated by this. In all of his time of knowing the Headmaster, Harry had never seen him so broken down. The guilt of failing to protect James and Lily and his continual failure at protecting Harry had begun to eat away at him._

" _I couldn't. I wanted you to have the time to be happy and live out a normal life." Dumbledore tried to quickly compose himself, he needed to be strong, not for the whole of the wizarding world, but for the young man in front of him. "It seems though, that time has never been on our side."_

 _-HP-_

The train ride was a somber one for much of the Hogwarts students. The laughter and merry making that usually accompanied the end of the year was now replaced with a deafening silence. It was a very similar feeling to when the Dementors were around the year prior, and even then the mood managed to improve after they left. Even Malfoy hadn't made an appearance, which under any other circumstances would've been cause for alarm.

For Hermione, her thoughts were focused on that of her best friend. Ever since he was released from the Hospital earlier that day, he was very subdued, almost depressed. She knew that Harry would brood after Cedric's death but even this was startlingly low for Harry. He had barely said two words to anybody all day.

Right before they had left in the carriages to go to Hogsmeade station, Hermione had sought out Dumbledore and asked him if Harry could stay with her family at some point over the summer. She knew that him being alone was the worst thing for him and hoped to help him break out of his funk.

Dumbledore though, thought it was best if she stayed at some pace he called headquarters. When asked about it, he informed her that that was all he could say. She then asked if Harry would be there, the Headmaster's only responded cryptically with, "You'll see him in due time."

The train began to slow to a stop and shortly after, all the students began filing out to meet up with their families. Once outside the barrier, Hermione began to make her way towards her parents before turning around to talk to Harry.

She found him looking over dejectedly towards his aunt and uncle who hadn't seemed to notice him quite yet. Her heart went out to him, his misery was palpable and evident on his face. Without another word, she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Don't wprry Harry. Hopefully Dumbledore will come get you in just a couple of days." She pulled back and was relieved to see a small smile on his face. She returned it, before deciding to do something she'd never done before. She stretched up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Keep in touch, will you."

She then turned and began to make her way back to her parents, if she had bothered to turn around, she would've noticed brief smile followed by a look of confusion on Harry's face as he touched where she had kissed him.

Hopefully, this summer would be a quick one.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Alright! We finally finished fourth year. Now I said that fifth year would be where the story starts to go more AU but a few canon events will still be happening, just with a twist to it. Now that Harry's secret is out, it's gonna shake things up in his life quite a bit.**_

 _ **I'm going to take a break from this story for a while, so that A. I can get a few ideas on where the next couplf of chapters will go and B. to start up another story or two. I haven't decided if the story should continue on in additional chapter or f I should start and fic. Feel free to PM me or comment in a review what you think would work best. I have a lot of other story ideas so I might make a poll to see what you guys would want to see.**_

 _ **As Always, thanks for reading!**_


	23. The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter 23 – The Calm Before The Storm

Harry first awoke to the sensation of a cold wind brushing against his skin. At first he hoped he was still asleep, but the longer the sensation went on, the more it seemed that it wasn't simply a dream. He opened his eyes, only to confirm his suspicions, he was no longer in his room.

He tried to shake the soreness from his muscles as he eased his body into an upright position and began surveying his surroundings. All he saw in front of him was trees and a quick glance behind him confirmed that he wasn't too far from Privet Drive.

Picking himself off the ground, he began the familiar trek back to his relative house. Ever since he returned home from school for the holiday, Harry noticed something was off. He felt more so at the mercy of the moon and his more primal instincts than ever before. This was nearly the tenth time he had woken up away from his bed. Gazing quickly up in the sky, he was greeted by a nearly full moon.

Instead of making him more relaxed, it did the exact opposite. The tensions inside his mind was constricting him in a tight chokehold. Why was the moon effecting him so? It went beyond simply sleepwalking at night. He found himself even more irritable and found it hard to keep things like his strength in check.

If that wasn't enough, he began to notice the all too familiar prickling sensation from his scar. Ever since the return of Voldemort in the graveyard, Harry noticed that his scar was in an almost constant state of pain. From a slight discomfort to pounding headaches, he couldn't escape the burning that irradiated from his scar.

Eventually made it back to his Aunt and Uncle's house and noticed that his bedroom window was open. In a leap impossible for a normal person, Harry bounded up onto the roof before vaulting in the window, deftly landing in his bed. Quickly pulling the covers over himself, he managed to appear asleep before his door opened to reveal his Uncle apparently investigating the disturbance.

Harry waited for him to leave the room before glancing at his clock to see what time it was.

2:17

' _Well,'_ Harry thought, _'So much for a full night's sleep'_. He laid back down, shuffling a little to find a comfortable position before sleep finally took him.

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Harry was roused from his sleep by the sound of his alarm going off at 5:30 as it did every morning. Groggily, he brought his hand down on the snooze button, only to be rewarding by a resounding crunch. Curious, he opened his eyes further to look at his clock, or rather what was left of it. Laying on his bedside table was a pile of broken part that had once been his alarm.

"Oh bloody hell!"

This was just what he needed. Now he would have to either explain to Uncle Vernon that he needed a new clock or possibly go without and suffer the man's wrath if he didn't get started on his chores. Figuring that that was a bridge he would cross when he came to it, Harry decided to get up and begin his day.

Removing his oversized clothes from his closet, Harry glanced at his desk and saw that Hedwig stood there with a few letters for him. He lazily opened and skimmed through each of the three letters, one from Sirius, one from Ron, and one from Hermione. As expected the only letter that included anything of significance was from Sirius and even then there wasn't much to go on. From all the letter he had received from Sirius, Harry managed to gather that he was in the country and that he and Dumbledore were up to something top secret. He would also take the time in each letter to simply converse with Harry and ask how his godson was doing.

Harry couldn't say the same thing about Ron and Hermione. Neither had sent anything of substance to Harry since the summer holiday had begun. In every letter addressed to both of them, Harry would ask them about what they were up too each summer, but their replies were never substantial. Harry expected as much from Ron, being able to gather that he and his family were off with Dumbledore while he had to suffer the Dursley's.

However, it was Hermione's letters that had hurt that most. Since the end of Fourth year, he went from having Hermione always be there for him to not. Ron keeping him in the dark didn't affect him all that much, but Hermione doing it had cut him deep. What was worse was that Harry was able to deduce that her and Ron were together for the summer and it made him feel unwanted being left out of it. Were they having fun without him, while he had to suffer here?

Harry was brought out of his thoughts and his dressing by the sound of ripping fabric. Looking down he noticed that sometime during his frustration, his claws had elongated and he had accidently ripped the shirt he was attempting to put on.

Cursing himself internally, he fished for a new shirt but he heard the ruffling of feathers coming from somewhere outside. Glancing back at his desk, he saw the Hedwig was still there. Before he could question it any further, a great brown owl landed next to Hedwig.

Fleur.

The beautiful French Veela had slowly immersed herself in his circle of close friends. Whereas Ron and Hermione seemed reluctant to communicate anything meaningful, Fleur's letters were filled with conversation about both of their lives. If he was being honest, Harry felt that her letters were a bright spot on an otherwise terrible holiday.

As thoughts of the beautiful French witch continued as he opened her letter, he was met by a sense of confusion. Lately he'd been getting a warm feeling whenever he thought of Fleur, one similar to when he thought of Hermione towards the end of term. He found it peculiar that his feelings towards his two closest female friends changed so suddenly. These feeling only served to strengthen both his recent kinship towards Fleur but also the bitter sense of betrayal towards Hermione.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Things here have been the same as they've been all summer. My father is still insisting that I stop talking to you. As you can tell, I continue to go against his wishes._

 _Have you heard anything significant from Ron and Hermione? I suspect not, but I hope that they open up son, I know how much it hurts you._

 _I'm sorry that I can't give you any news about what's going on in the wizarding world. Either nothing that's happening in Britain either isn't of international importance or your ministry is keeping it quiet._

 _I can't wait to hear from you again,_

 _Fleur._

With a smile on his face, Harry proceeded to head downstairs to get started on what would be another boring summer day. Little did he know how wrong he truly was.

-HP-

Fleur's summer was not nearly as enjoyable as she would have liked. First and foremost, she wasn't prepared for the media onslaught that would follow her ever since the conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament. It seemed as though everywhere she went, she couldn't escape photographers and reporters, all out to find any juicy information they could about her. She was used to gaining a lot of attention but this was ridiculous.

' _Now I see why 'Arry hates it.'_

Harry.

Whenever her thoughts turned towards the young man, she felt a combination of pity and frustration. They had decided to keep in touch after the tournament and what initially was the occasional correspondence turned into letters moving between them almost daily.

The tournament caused a bond to form between the two of them and it only strengthened as the summer went on. She became an outlet for all of his anger and frustration. Fleur was told about the lack of news about the happenings of the wizarding world and the information he got from his best friends.

Or rather, the lack of information from them. She scoffed at the thought, remembering how Harry recounted how all the letters he received from Ron and Hermione had little to them and simply told him to keep his nose cleaned. She immediately made the connection that they were together, but she kept this train of thought from Harry; the last thing he need is to feel even more isolated.

" _Fleur! Dinner is ready!"_

" _Coming Maman!"_

Fleur groaned internally, she wasn't looking forward to this particular meal. To describe Fleur's current relationship with her parents as tense would be an understatement. Ever since that night in the maze, her parents were hesitant to believe the tale that their daughter and the Potter boy told since that night.

At first her parents simply dismissed her claims and chalked it up to the stress of the night causing Fleur to see things. For the first week or two of the holiday nothing changed, that is until one particular meal where the subject of Harry was brought up.

 _ **~Flashback~**_

" _I don't understand why you refuse to believe me?"_

" _Fleur, I understand that you believe in what you saw, but honey you have to see that it is impossible."_

 _This seemed like the hundredth time that this discussion was brought up during meals. Fleur maintained the same story as every other time, while her parents as always refused to believe her._

" _I know what I saw Papa, and it wasn't all in my head. 'Arry was there and he fought Volde-"_

" _Do not say his name!" The forcefulness in her father's voice left no question to his command. As the days went on and the conversation kept reappearing, Sebastian Delacour's patience was slowly wearing thin. The repeat mention of Harry Potter, a boy who he believed was simply out to steal the other champion's thunder, caused his anger to rise more rapidly._

"' _Arry doesn't fear his name."_

" _Yes well we all can't be like young Mr. Potter." Fleur could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Trusting the word of a young man who has a history of seeking out attention and causing trouble..." he shook his head as his sentence trailed off._

" _Papa, 'e's not like that!"_

" _It seems like an odd coincidence that something is always happening around the boy."_

" _If you tried to get to know him, you would know that that is not true."_

 _Fleur's father turned a questioning glare towards his daughter, the evidence of his imminent eruption clear on his face._

" _Yes I am aware that you are very 'familiar' with Mr. Potter." It was Fleur's turn to glare towards her father. She was not liking where this conversation was heading. "I don't like that you are in frequent contact with a delinquent. I don't think you should be talking to him anymore."_

" _Papa you can't stop me from owling my friend. I will not abandon him."_

 _Her father suddenly stood up, throwing his chair back in the process. "No Fleur! It is clear to me that the boy is poisoning your mind with all of this talk of the Dark Lord returning. I will not have you associating with him anymore."_

" _But Papa-"_

" _ENOUGH!" and with that final yell, he slammed his hand down on the table causing a glass to fall to the ground and shatter. Fixing her father one final glare, Fleur promptly stood from her seat and left the room._

 _ **~Flashback End~**_

It had been nearly two weeks since then and the tension between Fleur and her father was still palpable. Thankfully he had yet to follow through with his threat to keep her from contacting Harry. All he needed was one more person to abandon her.

The air was still tense when she sat down with her parents and her little sister. She had barely spoken to her father since the fight and even though her mother did her best to stay out of it, Fleur knew that Apolline Delacour agreed with her husband to a degree. Only her sister had remained in her side but she didn't fully understand the state of the wizarding world.

Yes it seemed like another quiet dinner for the family. The silence in the room was thick, and was only interrupted by the sound for a disturbance outside.

-HP-

Hermione was having a hard time enjoying her summer holiday. Within three days of returning to her childhood home, Professor McGonagall had shown up requesting that Hermione come to an Order safe house for the remainder of the holiday.

The eagerness with which her parents were willing to get rid of her startled her slightly. Granted, Hermione never had as close of a relationship with her parents as many kids her age, but she had hoped that they would want to spend a little time with their only daughter.

For as long as Hermione could remember, her relationship with the elder Granger's was strained at best. With both of them working at their dentistry practice, the young girl was often left to her own devices. The only adults who usually paid any attention to her were the teachers at her primary school. She grew a certain closeness to those who taught her and found her love for learning.

The summer at Grimmauld Place however, was causing her to question her faith in authority figures. The night that she was brought the Sirius' ancestral home, Dumbledore pulled her and Ron aside and made them swear to not divulge any of the Order's activities to Harry. He reasoned that Harry needed the time to grieve after the catastrophe that was the Triwizard Tournament.

Though she felt guilty for leaving Harry out of the loop, at least it seemed as though there wasn't much for her to tell Harry about the Order's business. That and the fact that she trusted Dumbledore helped ease her conscious.

The chores that Mrs. Weasley had her and all the Weasley children performing and her relative solitude helped her work through the many questions in her mind. Mainly, her confused feelings towards Harry.

As the previous year began winding down, Hermione's feelings towards her raven-haired friend grew to things beyond what was platonic friendship. To top it all off, she also noticed how close he was getting towards the Beauxbatons champion Fleur. Her mind would constantly flit back and forth between wanting to tell Harry or simply letting her jumbled emotions settle down.

Currently, she was with Ginny and Ron, scouring one of the upper rooms of Grimmauld Place, when they heard a commotion coming from downstairs. Deciding to investigate, the trio ran downstairs and were met by a furiously pacing Sirius.

"Sirius, what's going on?"

The older man, looked up at the group, a grim expression marring his face.

"We just received word from our contact on Privet Drive that something has happened down there?"

"Oh god, Harry!" Hermione's mind instantly went into over drive, summoning up every possible scenario that could've happened. Harry had to be alright, Dumbledore promised that he would be brought to headquarters as soon as possible. He simply had to be okay.

While this was happening, another thought crossed her mind, one that was more than a little unsettling.

"What do you mean by 'contact'? Are you spying on Harry?"

Before she could be granted an answer, the fireplace flared, the face of an elderly woman appearing in the flames. If her appearance was startling, then the words that came out of her mouth was enough to send chills down the spine of all of the people residing in Grimmauld Place.

"Dementors in Little Whinging!"

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated this story. I can't possibly say how sorry I am for the wait but I can contribute the absence to 4 reasons.**_

 _ **School. This semester has been hell and it's taken a while for me to find the time to write. I actually started this chapter around February but was only just able to finish it.**_

 _ **I've had so many story ideas, that my brain keeps bouncing from one to another making it hard to focus on one particular story**_

 _ **I've completely restructured how I want to do the rest of this story. I have a habit of trying to stretch things out over too long of a period. This story was originally supposed to be around 75 chapters long, now I have it down to between 40 and 50.**_

 _ **Procrastination. I've just found it hard to get back to writing. But now that I'm back, I hope to stay back for a while.**_

 _ **I hope to have a new chapter for this story every 2 weeks.**_

 _ **As always, that's for reading!**_


	24. Pack Mentality

Chapter 24 – Pack Mentality

"I want you out of my house!"

"What?"

" _Out!"_

Fearing the wrath of his uncle, Harry decided that it was best to listen to his uncle. Little did he know that in his hurry to leave, he missed owls from both Sirius and Mr. Weasley urging to avoid taking such action.

It was just Harry's luck to go from an agonizingly slow, yet typical summer at Privet Drive, to being attacked by Dementors. Though he had managed to save Dudley, His aunt and uncle refused to believe that it somehow wasn't his fault. It hurt even worse to find out that Dumbledore had people watching him and he hadn't bothered to inform Harry or ask if he even wanted the protection.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, he had to stop to catch his breath. In his hurry to get away, he quickly realized that he didn't have a clue as to where he was. Just like the summer before Third year, he was more concerned about putting distance between himself and his summer time prison, that a possible destination hadn't crossed his mind.

"Great job Harry," he complained to himself, "Now it'll take a while for anyone to find you,"

He continued his trek down the street for a few blocks, contemplating his predicament, before he began to feel the familiar tightness of his skin. Looking up into the sky, he saw that the sun was nearly down, meaning the moon was soon to rise.

' _Stupid,_ ' he thought. He had completely forgotten that tonight was the full moon, and instead of being at his aunt and uncle's where someone would pick him up and take him somewhere where he could safely shift, he was out in the open.

Resigning himself that he at least had to head back to Number 4 and wait for someone to come get him, he turned around and started heading back the way he came, hoping that he hadn't ventured too far off course during his hasty getaway.

A few minutes into the return trip Harry caught a scent from somewhere nearby. The smell itself was peculiar because he couldn't place it, but it reminded him of Remus.

"Moony?"

The growl that followed made him realize that it wasn't Remus, but he had a feeling that he wasn't too far off.

A large mass swiftly leapt from the shadows and pinned him to the ground. Harry tried to struggle against the great hand that held the back of his head and pressed him into the asphalt. He saw a face lean down into his peripheral, a smile gracing his attacker's face that showed all his fanged yellow teeth.

"Hello runt!"

-HP-

The tension in the atmosphere at Number 12 Grimmauld Place was so palpable, it could be cut with a simple cutting curse. Hermione, Sirius, and the Weasleys were in the sitting room, all trying to not let the panic of Harry's predicament overwhelm them. Arthur, Molly, and Ginny were all sitting the sofa closest to the fire while the twins were leaned against the wall directly behind them. Sirius kept pacing the length of floor directly in front of the fireplace, occasionally glancing towards the entrance to his home and cursing under his breath. It had been nearly half an hour since the rescue party was sent to collect his godson and he was getting restless. Ron was standing the closest armchair to mantelpiece, his face paling as his mind seemed to work into frenzy over his best mate.

The occupant of said armchair was even worse off. Hermione simply sat there staring into the flames as if hoping another message claiming that all this was a false alarm and that Harry was okay. She felt naïve for hoping for such a thing but it was all she could do to hold on to the last bit of her composure. Normally her mind would constantly work through any possible way to help, but her mind was hopelessly blank. It didn't help the fact that she remembered what tonight was.

At the sound of the front door opening, all of the occupants of the room jumped to their feet but none were as quick as Hermione. She dashed into the foyer intending to hug her best friend and make sure that he was okay. When she finally caught sight of who entered the room she immediately became rooted to her spot.

"Fleur?"

Standing in the entrance was Fleur, a little girl who she quickly remembered was her sister Gabrielle, and two adults who she immediately assumed were her parents. She was about to question their presence when Professor Dumbledore strode in behind them and stepped forward.

"What's going on Albus?" came Sirius' voice from behind her.

"There was an attack Sirius."

"We heard about the Dementors. My question is why are they here then? Were they with Harry, and if so, why isn't he with you?"

"You miss understand me Sirius, there have been two attacks. The Delacour's home in France was assaulted by a team of Death Eaters. They managed to escape to Hogwarts before their home was destroyed. I brought them here for their own protection."

A flash of irritation crossed Sirius' face before he shook himself and began to gesture towards the stairs. "Make yourselves at home. There should still be two room available on the third floor on the left." The French family nodded before solemnly making their way to their new quarters.

Once they were out of sight, Sirius strode forward, practically hissing, "I know I agreed to offer my home as a headquarters for the Order, but I would appreciate it if you didn't bring strangers here without my permission."

"They've nearly lost everything Sirius. Surely you wouldn't leave these people to suffer, especially when one of them is close with Harry."

It was the last statement that caused Sirius to noticeably deflate. Hermione felt that it wasn't right for Dumbledore to use Harry against Sirius, but she couldn't fault him for trying to save the lives of another family. Everyone turned to reenter the sitting room, when the front door burst open again and they were greeted by the sight of sight of Tonks and Moody carrying a visibly distressed Harry.

-HP-

"What do you mean you kicked him out?"

Tonks and Remus could not believe what they were hearing. They had arrived at Harry's home just as the Dursley's were about to take Dudley to the hospital, when they were informed that Harry had ran off.

"I threw the ungrateful freak out. I don't give a damn what you people say, this wouldn't have happened to my son if the brat wasn't around. I've had enough of all this freakishness."

"Do you realize what you've done?"

Vernon continued to get even redder in the face at Tonks' question, but after a glance to the wands that were held at the individuals sides, decided wisely to just climb inside his car a drive off.

"We need to find Harry as soon as possible."

Tonks turned to Remus and noticed that his gaze was up toward the sky, reminding her of the impending full moon. Striding forward, she carefully laid a hand on the older man's shoulder and was rewarded with a small smile gracing his face.

Looking towards the door, she saw Mad-eye hobbling towards them. "It appears Potter didn't get our letters. The kid should've known better than to just run off into the night, especially on a night like this."

This line of thought only aggravated Tonks even more. Sirius, Remus, and herself were the most vocal against Harry being left alone and it seems their secrecy had come back to bite them in the arse.

"Well how was he supposed to know that we would be around shortly? Hell, the kids been isolated for weeks now, and the way his uncle's temper seems to be, I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same thing."

"Enough you too," Remus joined in, "arguing isn't going to get us any closer to finding Harry. We need to split up and track him down as soon as possible."

With that, the group split up into multiple directions. Tonks decided to head towards the Northwest towards a patch of woods, figuring that if Harry remembered what tonight was, he would try to isolate himself in there. As she walked her brain drifted to what she had seen during her time watching Harry.

He looked normal enough for a kid his age but there were a number of details that she found alarming. Since most of her shifts started in the early hours of the morning, she noticed that Harry would regularly turn up shortly after she arrived and sneak his way back into the house. She'd confronted Dung on this multiple times, the idiot simply claiming that he noticed nothing of the sort under his watch, and decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of bringing it up.

"I'm gonna give you one more chance runt, and you'd better hope that this time I get the right answer. The Dark Lord says that either you willingly join my pack or I bring you to him so he can deal with you himself. Now, I don't take rejection well, so if you decide to not take my offer, I can't guarantee you'll make I to him in one piece. Alive, but not in one piece."

Tonks immediately caught the gasp that was on the edge of her lips in her throat. The voice that seemed to be coming from the direction of the woods did not sound friendly, in fact, it sounded almost predator-like. The mention of the word pack made it painfully obvious that whoever it was, was a werewolf, so she decided to inform the others with a silent Patronus, and to wait for back-up before engaging.

"So….What's it gonna be?"

"Tell Voldemort that I said piss off!"

She recognized the voice of Harry cutting through the darkness, and could tell by the strain of it that he wasn't in the best shape. The sound of a fleshy impact and two grunts, informed her that his condition was only going to get worse. She heard footsteps behind her, as she was quickly joined by the other Order members.

"Wrong answer Runt."

At that prompting, the Order charged into the tree line and were greeted by a group of 5 werewolves, 1 standing over Harry's body and 4 encircling them. A barrage of stunning spells caught the werewolves off guard, causing the 4 on he outskirts to make a hasty retreat. The leader lifted his head towards his attackers causing Remus to gasp.

"Greyback!"

"We meet again traitor. I'd love to stay and chat but my meeting with young Harry is over, so we'll have to continue this struggle another day." Before anyone could react, he disapparated away.

Remus darted forward to the spot where Greyback once stood. "Damnit", he said in low growl, his frustration coupled with the rising moon starting to get the better of him. He felt an arm on his elbow and turned to see Tonks looking worriedly at him.

"Remus, we need to get moving. There's no telling how long we have before-"

She wasn't able to finish her statement before a pained grunt ripped from Harry's mouth.

"Shit! We need to get him moving." She paused to look at Remus hoping that he was still with them enough to help. "How are you doing, Remus?" She could see the stress starting to overtake him.

"I'll be fine, go on without me." At her worried look he quickly added, "I've taken my potion, but I would feel more comfortable changing at my place. Just make sure you get him to read the address so you can get him inside headquarters."

She wanted to reassure him that everything was okay. She wanted offer him comfort because in the little time she knew him, she understood that the night of the full moon was rough on him. Instead all she managed out was, "Okay", before he apparated away.

Turning back to Harry she saw Mad-Eye shoving a small piece of parchment into the teens face. "If you can hear me Potter, I need you to read this and think about it, while we apparate you to headquarters. Do you understand?" Harry managed to give a weak nod before opening his eyes to read the address on the paper, before Tonks and Moody draped his arms over their shoulders and apparated him away.

-HP-

Relief washed over Hermione at the sight of her best friend. "Harry, thank goodness you're alright." She made to rush forward but a raised hand from Tonks stopped her in her tracks.

"Later Hermione. We don't have much time before-", she was unable to finish due to Harry having fallen out of their grasp and onto his hands and knees.

"Harry!"

"'Arry!"

Both saw the shape that he was in and made to move forward to help. They stopped by a sudden roar from Harry and watched in fascinated horror as his nails elongated and his eyes began to glow.

Sirius was the first one to recover. "Quick! Get him downstairs now!" With Tonks' assistance he moved Harry through the dining room to a door in the back most reaches of the house before forcing Harry and himself through, shutting the door behind them.

Minutes went by as the occupants of the House of Black couldn't help but hear as the strangled cries of Harry turned into deep growls and sounds of thrashing about before all went quiet. Once it had seemed that the situation was back under control, Hermione and all the other guests moved from the kitchen and made their way to bedrooms, thoughts of how things had changed and the unfairness of life nagging them as one by one, they all drifted into unconsciousness.

-HP-

The first sensational Harry felt was an incredible soreness all over his body. At this point, he felt that he had been used to this, having been a werewolf for over a year by this point, but he hadn't felt this bad since the time he suffered from Wolfsbane poisoning. With a great effort he was able to move his left hand inches away before he came in contact with cloth. Opening his eyes, he peered that way and saw that an outfit had been provided by him, presumably by his godfather.

Not wanting to stay wherever he was any longer, he began to dress himself and managed to find a staircase up in the process. Ascending it, he found himself in a narrow dining room with a small kitchen and a large table taking up much of the available space. Sitting at the table was Sirius and a pink-haired witch that he vaguely remembered.

"Harry it's good to see that you're up." Unable to hold himself back any further, Harry quickly moved to hug his godfather, one that was returned with much gusto. "It's been way too long pup." Remembering that there was another occupant of the room, he gestured towards the witch. "You may not remember, but this is my cousin Nymphadora. She's the one who's most responsible bringing you here to safety,"

To Harry's wonder, her hair turned bright red as she glared at Sirius. "Don't call me Nymphadora!" Calming herself, she greeted Harry. "Wotcher Harry. Name's Tonks and don't even think about calling me anything else." The slight edge in her voice told Harry that he should obey that particular command.

"Nice to meet you Tonks. By the way, thanks for bringing me clothes Sirius."

Tonks piped up before Sirius could even respond, "Oh don't thank him Harry, I was the one who brought the clothes down for you. Congratulations by the way", she added with a flirtatious wink causing him to turn scarlet.

"Don't break the poor boy Tonks. There are a number of women here who wouldn't appreciate such talk." This caused Tonks to smirk even more causing Harry to feel even more uncomfortable. "Either way, she's just having you on Harry. I made sure to take the clothes from her before she could see any of the goods."

"Alright enough of that!" Harry was starting to get annoyed by all the teasing. After that the three sat down and chatted while they waited for the others to gather for breakfast. Sirius discussed what he had been up to since he last saw Harry and Tonks explained her ever changing appearance and told Harry all about her being a Metamorphmagus. After several minutes of idle chat, the door opened and Remus walked in and sat down directly across from Harry, looking like he lost a fight with a hippogriff.

"Rough night?"

"No more than usual Padfoot. Harry, it's good to see that you're alright."

"Just glad to be away from the Dursleys."

Remus leaned forward, his expression turning from cordial to serious. "Harry…What do you remember from last night?"

Harry scrunched his brows in concentration. "I remember running from the Dursleys before turning around and heading back. I caught a scent before I was tackled by something…and then after that, nothing."

The atmosphere in the kitchen got considerably tenser, as Remus prepared to explain as much of the situation from Harry as he could.

"By as much as we can tell Harry you were ambushed by a group of werewolves who were following orders from Voldemort. A similar attack happen around the same time at the Delacour's home in France."

Harry bolted right up at that. "Fleur! Are they all alright?"

"Yes they're fine Harry. They're here in fact, so you should be able to see them later. But on to more important things." Lupin paused to rub his eyes. It was obvious to Harry that whatever news he brought, it didn't bode well for anybody. "The group that attacked you was led by a werewolf named Fenrir Greyback."

"He's as worse as they come," Sirius interjected.

"Yes, whereas most werewolves feel cursed or shame due to their condition, Greyback sees werewolves as superior and believes that it his duty to infect as many people as people and have our kind take over." Lupin cast his eyes downward, either in debate on what to say next or as if something was deeply troubling him. "Greyback has a tendency to target children to turn. He positions himself close to his victims prior to the moon's rise so that he has the best chance of success, and…he's the werewolf that turned me."

Harry's eyes widened at this. No wonder the arrival of this man, if you could call him that, affected him so much. He had faced that man that changed his life.

Struggling for how to respond to the new information, Harry asked the first question that came to his mind.

"What does he want with me?"

"By what we can figure, Greyback is both threatened and intrigued by you. The possibility that Magical Britain's savior joining is ranks has the potential to bolster his cause. He also understands that if you refuse him, you could derail everything he's worked for by leading werewolves away from him and swaying public opinion. That's what he wanted, to give you an ultimatum."

Before Harry was able to process this, he heard the door to the kitchen open before a bushy-haired missile nearly tackled him out of his chair. "Harry! Thank Merlin, we were all so worried about you." All he could do was respond with a strangled "ow", which caused Hermione to suddenly remember what he went through the night before. She hastily backed away, mumbling a quick, "sorry", causing both teens to blush slightly.

"Jeez Hermione. Give the bloke time to heal." Harry was glad that Ron's entrance managed to prevent a potentially awkward situation. "Hey mate, feeling alright. I hope last night wasn't too-"

Another body had slammed into Harry's chest, albeit this was significantly smaller. "'Arry!" cried the excited voice of Gabrielle Delacour who proceed to ask him how he was okay so quickly, that even though Harry had a basic understanding of the language due to his friendship with her older sister, left him completely lost.

Harry then noticed Fleur enter the room, who quickly chastised her sister, before smiling warmly at Harry. "It is good to see you in one piece 'Arry. Hopefully Gabrielle's attack doesn't ern you a trip to ze 'ospital." Harry noticed that her accent had become less pronounced during their time apart, but wasn't able to ponder it any further before a pair of lips kissed him lightly on his cheek. He blushed even more as the rest of Grimmauld Place's occupants arrived for a hot meal.

It was a little while into the meal before more bad news was added to Harry's plate. Sirius cleared his throat, causing all at the table to look his way.

"Harry…Since you left before you could receive any letters, you missed the fact that you received a letter from the Ministry about using magic in front of your cousin. Since it was your third offense, they saw fit to expel you from Hogwarts."

All the color drained from Harry's face. He was expelled/? What was he to do? How would he go on in the magical world if they snapped his wand and denied him and education?

"However, Dumbledore was able to convince Fudge that you should be given the chance to defend your actions, so your expulsion has been put of pending a formal hearing."

Harry's head shot up. "So what you're saying is, Fudge wants to publically humiliate and make an example of me."

"Yes, that's what he'll try to do, but if you keep your head and show that you had a reason for casting magic, then there is no way they could expel you."

Even with Sirius' encouraging words, everyone could sense how much of an uphill battle this would be. Around the table, Harry cold see that everyone had a disturbed look on their faces'. Except the elder Delacours, who looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there.

Harry wanted to lash out at the injustice of it all, but was stopped by the feeling of a hand slipping into his. Looking to his left he saw Fleur give him a small smile and a quick squeeze of his hand, which he happily returned. His sour demeanor temporarily forgotten, he failed to see that Hermione had noticed the exchange with a small frown on her face.

 _ **AN-**_

 _ **I hope everyone enjoyed the little twist I add. I wanted to do something different and not just add on to the Dementor encounter, so I decided to add a-whole-nother player to this game of chess.**_

 _ **If the bit about Fleur's accent seems a little rushed, I added it in so that I could write more efficiently without having to worry as much that I'm getting the accent right.**_

 _ **Next chapter looks into the summer at Grimmauld Place a little and also will cover Harry's trial, which will be a little different.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	25. Court of Lies

Chapter 25 – Court of Lies

The weeks after Voldemort's two-pronged attack, a sense of normalcy had descended upon Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Or rather, as normal as a household that was occupied by 2 families and enough others to make up a third. Due to all these families' close proximity, tension began to rise.

The main source of contention was between Mrs. Weasley and Sirius, and her and the elder Delacours. Soon after the house had gotten 5 new occupants, she doubled down on her efforts to clean every inch of Grimmauld Place. This didn't cause too many problems until she started acting as though it was her house, which put her at odds with Sirius. It seemed that their struggle for control became an almost daily occurrence that would only end either when Sirius would stomp off in frustration, or Arthur would be forced to admonish his wife.

The situation between her and the Delacours wasn't any better. Mr. Delacour spent most of his time at work in the French Ministry, while his wife kept to herself. While Mrs. Delacour wasn't unfriendly towards the others, she didn't go out of her way to associate with the house's other occupants. When her husband would return from work, they would keep to themselves, only coming down from their room when it was time to eat only to leave once they had finished.

Molly was at first very vocal about how they should be grateful that they were given a place to stay and thought they should show more appreciation. After nearly two weeks of her comments falling on deaf ears did she change to simply glowering and mumbling angrily when she saw the couple.

The younger two children however were a pleasure to have around, making nearly impossible for Molly to harbor them any ill will. Gabrielle was a fireball of energy, always eager to help out anyway she could, moving from room to room so quickly that it was hard to keep track of her. She found Fleur to very polite and respectable young women, but she couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards the girl due to her closeness with Harry.

-HP-

Harry had initially hoped that the day before his trial would be one where he would be given the opportunity to relax and prepare for the ay to come. Instead, he and the other teens of Grimmauld Place were charged with cleaning the Drawing room. This room, like many of the other rooms at headquarters, was filled with items that were cursed, infested with doxy's, or were simply a danger to have in the house.

"What I don't understand is that if all this stuff is as dangerous as Mum goes on about, then why are we taking care of it and not someone from the Order," Ron said in a harsh whisper.

"The Order has to deal with combatting Voldemort Ronald," an exasperated Hermione replied. She and just about all the others that were currently trying to clean out the drawing room, were getting tired of Ron's complaining. "The least we could do is make sure that they don't have to worry about getting hurt at headquarters."

Ron simply grumbled as he made a blind grab into the pile that he and Hermione were currently sorting through only to be bit by a watch that was lying on top.

"Bloody Hell!"

"Ronald Weasley! I will not tolerate that kind of language in my house. I have half a mind-"

"Remember Molly," began Sirius, his tone one that was both tired and agitated, "this is not your house. It's mine!"

And just like that, another argument began between Molly and Sirius. All the others in the room had gotten so used to this that they simply tuned the two out.

As both of the adults were occupied with their argument, it allowed for Fleur to maneuver closer to Harry.

"'Ow are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure… it just feels like we're doing nothing. Voldemort is out there and we're stuck in here cleaning out a drawing room." He picked up a small trinket from the wardrobe he was currently shifting through, and carelessly tossing it into a bag. "Like I said at dinner the other night, I want to help, I want to fight!"

"'Arry, look at me." She placed a hand on his arm, when he finally turned to look at her, she flared her allure ever so slightly. She knew that Harry had a natural resistance to her allure, so the effect was only to calm him down. "We 'ave to let the adults take care of it for now. What can we do since we're still in school?"

Harry visibly deflated at that, his anger dwindling away to nothing. Looking into Fleur's eyes, he began to subconsciously lean forward, vaguely aware that she was doing the same. "You're right. Thanks for talking me down." His eyes drifted down to her lips for what seemed like the millionth time, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. When he began to feel her hot breath on his lips, his eyes began to drift shut. Only and inch separated them before-

"Harry! Give us a hand over here!"

Harry couldn't help but feel resentful for Ron's poor timing, as he and Fleur sprang apart, both blushing furiously. Moving forward, the pair noticed the rest of the room huddling around an object. Upon closer inspection, they saw that they were all trying to open an ornate locket. The locket looked normal enough except for the large 'S' it had on its top.

"Here," said Ron thrusting the locket into Fleur's hands," You guys try to get it open. The rest of us have all tried but we can't get it."

Fleur glanced at the locket briefly before trying to pry it open with her hands. After a minute of attempting to get her nails into the locket, she held it out for Harry in a huff. A slightly amused smile, graced Harry's lips as he reached for the locket.

No sooner had the locket touched his fingertips, his body was immediately wracked with pain. Clenching his muscles, he fell to the floor and let out a pain yell. He vaguely noticed in the back of his mind that his voice was turning into a roar.

A couple of gasps echoed in the room as everyone unconsciously took a step away from Harry as his features began to shift. Sirius stepped forward, deciding that it was unwise for anyone besides him too be in the room while Harry was transforming.

"Alright everyone out of the room!"

Nearly everyone began to move out into the hallway, but Sirius noticed that one had yet to move. Hermione Granger had yet to attempt to leave the room, in fact she was moving closer to Harry's distressed form in the center of the room. Seeing this, Fleur also fought her way back to Harry.

"Harry. You need to calm yourself, this isn't you."

"'Arry, just focus on the sound of our voices."

Hermione made a move to touch Harry's arm, the contact causing him to raise his head sharply. She noticed his eyes were glowing and his fangs elongated. Hermione flinched slightly but she refused to move from her spot. A growl emanated from his throat as he raised his hand to slash at the girls in front of him. Hermione eyes shut instinctively, waiting for the blow to come, but it never did.

Opening her eyes, she saw that even though his features were still distorted, his face seemed perplexed as his gaze drifted back and forth between Fleur and Hermione. Before any of the three could act, a silent stunner shot through the room and Harry slumped forward unconscious.

"Sirius!" Hermione gazed at the Marauder, his wand still trained on his godson's prone form.

"I didn't want to risk the possibility that he would still be violent." With a wave of his wand, Harry limply floated into the air and began hovering towards the door. "Don't worry. I'll take him to his room and he'll wake up tomorrow and hopefully will have things back under control."

When Sirius exited the room, all the other teens reentered, an awkward silence settling after what they had just witnessed. The twins and Gabrielle looked towards the door with pity, obviously sorry for what Harry had to go through. Ginny looked shaken up, her body's trembling keeping her from being able to do much besides stand there looking at nothing in particular. Ron however, looked towards Hermione and Fleur with and expression that was a combination of awe and exasperation.

"What the bloody hell were you two thinking? He could've seriously hurt you."

"Someone had to act Ron," said Hermione while shooting a glare at Rn that was supposed to unnerve him but by this point did very little to Affect him.

"Besides, I think we were getting through to 'Arry." Fleur looked back to the doorway, her expression turning sad.

Ron's expression turned even more flabbergasted, if that was even possible. "You two are completely mental."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort, Sirius reentered the room, his gaze immediately falling onto the locket which still lay abandoned on the floor.

"I would suggest that you all should refrain from touching that thing until Dumbledore gets here to examine it."

"But that's just it," he turned his attention towards Ginny, this being the first sign that she had noticed anything since Harry almost attacked. "We all tried to open it but we couldn't. He was the only one to react like that."

The haunted face that Hermione recognized from when Sirius found out that Voldemort crossed his face as his gaze once again trained onto the locket.

-HP-

Harry moved through the endless hallways of the Ministry with Mr. Weasley in tow. The last 4 hours had been extremely strange, Harry was more than a little thankful that he was able to relax before his trial.

The fact that that rest came about because he nearly transformed an attacked his friends was definitely more than a little sobering.

When he woke up that morning, he was confused until Sirius entered the room and recounted what had happened the day before. After being informed that he almost mauled his friends, Harry very nearly fell into a dark place as he contemplated the possibility of locking himself in his room and staying away from others. His godfather was quick to talk him down from such action, the immediate issue being that he had to attend trial later that day.

After much coaxing, Harry made his way down for breakfast and began to take notice to the sentiments of the room. Much of the Order member present and the twins looked at him with pity due to his condition. Hermione and Fleur both gave him genuine smiles, while Gabrielle seemed to be the least effected out of everyone, as she was back to her bubbly energetic self.

Noticing his arrival, Ron immediately waved Harry over to sit between him and Ginny. Once Harry had sat down he made to begin his breakfast, but was distracted by the sound of a chair moving and retreating footsteps. Looking to his left, he saw that Ginny had vacated her seat and had chosen to move further down the table.

One look in her eyes was all the explanation Harry needed. She was afraid of him. The perfect hero image that she had once harbored for him had been replaced by one of a monster. Glancing around the table he saw a number of surprised faces at the interaction, the only exceptions being the glare that Fleur directed at Ginny, and the sad smile Hermione sent his way in an attempt to try and show support.

Harry was broken from his reverie by their arrival at Courtroom 10. It seemed that the Minister had decided to make a public example of him in front of the entire Wizengamont. Steeling himself, he pushed the door to the courtroom open and strode in.

Inside he saw a lone chair sitting in the middle of the room. It didn't take a lot of brain power to figure where Harry would be sitting. As he had expected, the entire Wizengamont was there for his trial. The Minister was sat directly in front of Harry's chair. At a glance, he appeared to have a business-like expression on his face, but if one looked close enough, they could see the slight smugness and pride that was hiding behind his eyes.

Movement to the right alerted him to the arrival of Dumbledore as the hush spread throughout the room. The trial was underway.

The trial of one Harry James Potter for his breach of the use of underage magic and breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Head of the Prosecution is Cornelius Fudge while-"

"Witness for the defense. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

"Yes. Well, now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, let the trial commence." With a bang of his gavel, the fate of Harry's continued existence in the Wizarding World hung in the balance.

"Mr. Potter, according to our records, you recently performed a Patronus Charm in the presence of a muggle, fully aware of the illegality of your actions. Is this true?"

"Yes sir but-"

"Did you know that it is forbidden for underage wizards to perform magic outside of school?"

"Yes, bu-"

"Then I see very little reason to continue this further. I hereby sentence Mr. Potter to-"

"There were Dementors sir!"

A girlish _hem-_ hem was heard in the room as a large toad-like women wearing ghastly pink robes sprung from her seat at the insinuation.

Fudge's smirk seemed to grow ever so slightly wider when the witch got involved. "Madam Umbridge, you now have the floor."

"Thank you Minister," with a small bow of her head it became apparent to Harry that she and Fudge were in on this together. "Dementors are under the control of the Ministry. If what I'm hearing is correct, you're insinuating that the Ministry was involve."

Dumbledore spoke for the first time since the trial had begun, an uncharacteristic steel in his voice. To say he despised Umbridge would be a terrible understatement. "We mean to make no such accusations Madam Umbridge. In fact, Mr. Potter and I have made it clear who we feel is responsible for this several months ago."

"Enough!" You could practically feel the rage radiating off of the Minister of Magic after that. He quickly realized his mistake and reeled it back in. "If I'm honest Dumbledore, this all sounds too convenient. It is known that Muggles can't see Dementors and the fact that your story would only help bolster your claims of a certain dark wizards return makes me a little skeptical."

"Cornelius, if you would only see reason we could-"

"No! You have no witnesses of the event and I will not allow this sham to go on any further."

"Actually Minister, we do have a witness."

Out came Mrs. Figg, who recounted her version of the events, causing the Minister's tightly wound composure to begin to slip.

"Even if you have someone who _claims_ to have seen said Dementors, Mr. Potter's other violations must also be taken into account. The use of a Levitation Charm three summers ago and for blowing up his aunt the following year."

"You're the one who let me off, _Minister._ " The sarcasm was practically dripping from Harry's voice, further enraging Fudge.

"Furthermore Cornelius," Dumbledore interjected, "we have evidence to support that Mr. Potter only broke the law in a life or death situation. These previous two slights on his record cannot be used to support this. He was justified."

Fudge was visibly trembling by this point. He seemed ready to finally explode, but as his mouth opened he paused. He relaxed back into his chair, a twisted smile adorning his face.

"Fine I will leave the verdict up to the Wizengamont members, but I have another point that I wish to make." This could only spell bad news as Fudge turned to address the rest of the court. "It has recently come out that Mr. Potter is no longer exactly human."

At these words both Dumbledore and Harry tensed. Fudge was planning to use existing anti-werewolf prejudices to swing the vote his way. It was obviously an obtuse and underhanded tactic, but being the Minister of Magic, no one had the authority to stop him.

"With this revelation in mind, I can't help but wonder about our children's safety at Hogwarts. Dangerous things have been happening at Hogwarts quite frequently now, I think its unwise to add to that by allowing a werewolf to attend school there."

Harry had heard enough, "You can't do that!"

"Can't I? Mr. Potter, your claims that He-Who-Must-Not–Be–Named returning doesn't ad credibility to the idea that you are as mentally competent as you seem. What would happen if you were to attack one of your fellow students?"

Harry felt a mixture of anger and sadness as he processed the Minister's words. To think that the he would ever consider willingly attacking a student was outrageous, but his flashed back to the previous day and guilt began to creep into his mind. His musings were cut off by Dumbledore's move to the center of the room."

"Firstly Cornelius, I fail to see how Harry's condition has any effect on this trial. It seems to me that you are simply trying to force Harry out of our world," before he could continue a light _hem-hem,_ caught his attention. Umbridge once again rose from her seat.

"Excuse me Headmaster, but I can't help but disagree. In any circumstance, such a… _person_ " her drifted to Harry and became one of absolute hate before shifting back to her usual superior smirk, "would be considered too dangerous to hold a job around upstanding members of our society. Why should our schools be treated any differently?" It was easy to see her disdain for werewolves and no one failed to understand that she meant Pureblooded Wizards when she said upstanding citizens.

"Be that as it may, this trial is not about whether a person conflicted with lycanthropy has the right to attend school. Mr. Potter was at Hogwarts all of last year despite his condition and one Remus Lupin went through his entire Hogwarts tenure without incident. I simply ask you to remember that beyond his physical affliction, what we have here is a teenage boy who simply wishes to be given the same opportunities as you and me."

It seemed the Dumbledore's words had reached a few of the Wizengamont member, though he doubted that it would swing many opinions on the topic of werewolf rights, but it was a start. Fudge could be seen visibly deflating while he watched as the faces of the government body hoping that many of them still supported him.

"I now call a vote. All who find the defendant guilty?" With that about a third of the members raised their hands into the air. His expression darkened, it wasn't nearly enough to obtain a verdict. To Harry it looked like Fudge was struggling to be able to call for the other vote, as if he hoped by avoiding it he would still get his way.

Reluctantly, the Minster finally spoke, "All those in favor of clearing the defendant of all charges?" With that, the rest of the hands went up. He begrudgingly lifted up his gavel before saying, "cleared of all charges," before banging it down.

Harry couldn't believe his luck. Despite the odds being heavily stacked against him, he got off.

-HP-

Harry felt numb the entire return trip to Grimmauld Place, he felt light due to the charges against him being dropped, so much so, that he failed to take in his surrounding until Mr. Weasley ushered him through the oor.

No sooner had he stepped through the threshold, was he hit by a tiny silver-haired bullet. "'Arry," Gabrielle cried as she began to chatter at him at lightning speed. Her English was getting better due to her families recent living arrangement, but her speed and the occasional French word thrown in there still cause quite a bit of confusion.

He stepped into the sitting room and was immediately met by the Twins, who were dancing around singing at the top of their lunges, " _He Got Off! He Got Off!"_

Both Sirius and Lupin approached him and offered him their congratulations for making out of the Ministry in one piece. Next was Ron who clapped his best mate on the back, "I knew there was nothing to worry about."

Harry could only smile at him before Hermione stepped forward and also gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I knew they couldn't expel you. I'm just glad that they didn't try to force the decision."

"They did. Fudge brought up that because I'm a werewolf that I was a menace and should be kept from the school."

Hermione looked horrified while Ron simply started laughing. "Come on mate, with all the stuff we've gotten into while in school, it's a wonder they haven't thrown all three of us out." This got a horrified look from Hermione and a chuckle from Harry.

He continued to look around the room and failed to see either Fleur or Ginny among them. "Where's Ginny and Fleur?"

His friends' faces fell at that, neither looking completely willing to bring up the absences. Ron was the first one to find his voice. "I'm not sure about Fleur but…Ginny said that she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to come down."

Harry picked up on the unsaid implication. Ginny was still distant from him ever since his episode yesterday. He thought she might be scared of him, but whenever he approached her to talk about it, she would find an excuse to leave the room. Guessing his friend's train of thought, Ron patted him on the shoulder.

"She'll come around mate, just give her time."

The sound of a door opening caught Harry's attention, causing Harry to look over and see Fleur enter the room. "'Arry!" was all she said as she began to make her way towards where he was standing. Still feeling good from winning his trial, Harry also began moving towards her.

His body acting on his own accord, the second he met up with Fleur, he pulled her in close and kissed her directly on her lips. Startled at first, Fleur slowly gave into it and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. They were so wrapped up in each other that both of them failed to notice the slightly crestfallen face of Hermione.

 _ **AN:**_

 _ **Sorry it took me so long to update. My family and I went Disneyland and the internet wasn't that good. I hope to be back on track come next weekend so look forward to that.**_

 _ **So its official, Harry/Fleur is a thing. Don't worry there is still plenty of drama to come from the Hermione side of things and I hope everyone finds the eventual payoff a ways down the road satisfying.**_

 _ **The last thing I want to say is that I'm starting to work on a number of new stories. Once I get the first chapters of about 3 or 4 of them done, I want to post all of them and see what you guys want to see be written.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	26. New Beginnings

Chapter 26 –

The final weeks of the holiday moved quickly after the conclusion of Harry's trial. The daily routine of cleaning Grimmauld Place persisted despite the complaints from everyone who was going to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley had all of them working constantly destroying any possibility for any free time. Even though she never expressed so verbally, Harry had a feeling that it was because of his relationship with Fleur, especially since he had heard one night that Ginny's continued distance was due to "her heart being broken."

On that subject, the youngest Weasley still avoided Harry, despite his attempts to try and talk to her. When he asked Remus why she didn't act like that around the older werewolf, he claimed that it was probably due to the fact that she'd never seen him transform, allowing her to justify that Remus wouldn't hurt anyone. Seeing Harry almost transform had made his affliction real and made her irrationally afraid. The fact that her mental image of Harry being a warrior of light being shattered also might have had something to do with it.

Besides her, his relationship with everyone else had remained the same for the most part. If anyone else felt uncomfortable around him, they hid it very well. The only exceptions to this was his interactions with Fleur and Hermione.

Fleur was an easier question to answer. Ever since their kiss after his trial, the two became boyfriend and girlfriend. Their interactions didn't change too much since then, just that they were more affectionate. They tried to spend as much free time as they had, which granted was very little, together.

Hermione had been very supported of Harry and Fleur's relationship. She had congratulated them when they got together, but as she pulled away Harry noticed that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her behavior didn't seem to change too much, she began to hang out with Ron and Ginny more in order to give Harry and Fleur alone time but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to avoid them. When they were around each other she didn't act any different but he suspected that there was more to it than that.

Ever since the incident with the locket, Harry's mind would drift back to it repeatedly. Dumbledore had taken the locket in order to figure out what kind of magic it contained. The fact that it had a potentially violent effect on him, he wanted to know why it affected him so.

He hoped he would finally get answers when Dumbledore strolled into the sitting room that day.

"Hello Professor!"

"Ah Harry, I hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of your holiday."

"Yes sir." As Dumbledore began to make his exit, Harry couldn't take it anymore.

"Sir?" When the Professor turned towards him, he decided to take his chance. "Did you ever find out what was up with the locket?"

Harry thought he saw a brief look of shock cross his face but he quickly schooled his features. "I haven't been able to determine what kind of magic the locket contains, but I assure you that I'm still searching."

After he asked his question, Harry decided to focus his hearing on the Headmaster and noticed the slight rise in Dumbledore's heartbeat after he asked his question before it steadied out again. He could tell that the Professor wasn't telling the whole truth if not outright lying, but he decided to not call him out on it, at least until he had more evidence.

As he started to leave, Harry could no longer hold himself back. His frustration at being isolated all summer, especially because of the large responsibility Dumbledore had thrust upon him at the end of term had worn his patience thin. How was he supposed to defeat Voldemort if he was kept at arms distance?

"Why sir?" The question stopped Dumbledore in his tracks. He turned back towards Harry, the confusion clear on his face. The sight he was met with was a look of utter frustration on Harry's face.

"Why tell me about the Prophecy sir?" The words hit Dumbledore hard, as he began to formulate his response to the accusation that was clearly hidden behind Harry's words. He was about to respond when Harry decided to continue. "Was your promise to help me just lies to justify your conscience? Was it because you felt sorry for me?" His words hung in the room like a thick fog weighing down on the two of them. The look in the older man's eyes as well as a slight jump in his heart rate told Harry that it was at least somewhat true. "Do you not trust me sir?"

"What on earth makes you think that I don't trust you Harry?"

"Your actions speak clearly enough Headmaster. If you must know, my senses have gotten stronger over the summer. I could hear your heart rate rise while we were talking."

Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock. This had happened just this summer? His mind raced to process this information. If this change had suddenly happened this summer, then it stood to reason that it could have possibly been caused by the Dark Lord's return. This only added further evidence to what he had already suspected, Harry was a Horcrux. Harry briefly noticed the look of sadness in Dumbledore's eyes, but interpreted it as regret over Dumbledore's actions.

"It's not that I don't trust you Harry, it's that you're not ready for some of the realities of this conflict yet. If Voldemort were to discover anything that would help him in this conflict through your connection…" he let the statement linger between them instead of continuing onward. Harry huffed out a frustrated breath and decided that he needed to try a different approach instead of simply attacking the Professor.

"I get that his connection with me could be used against us, but you're the one who told me about the prophecy and its significance. Don't expect me to just sit around and do nothing when I now know how important I'm supposed to be in this war."

Dumbledore flinched slightly at his words. He understood that he was asking a lot of Harry when he told him of the prophecy and though he felt that it was right to hold off on explaining his suspicion about Harry's scar, he understood that he was being unfair to the young man in front of him.

"I just wanted you to have a chance at a normal life."

"I understand that sir, and the quicker that I can be ready to face him, the sooner I can have that normal life." The resolve in Harry's eyes was the last bit that told Dumbledore that Harry was right, he needed to be ready. "Teach me everything I need to know so that we can end all of this."

Dumbledore sighed as he was forced to reevaluate the man stood before him. He understood that Harry was forced to grow up much faster than a child had any right to and resigned himself to the fact that he had been wrong. He shouldn't have just assumed that Harry couldn't handle the burden that was placed upon him. Instead, he decided that he would help Harry to eventually bare the responsibilities that he would eventually have to shoulder.

"Alright Harry. Once term begins, we will begin training you for the battles that will inevitably be coming. I hope that with time, you will find the strength to forgive an old man for his mistakes."

"Thank you Headmaster. All I ask is that you give me a chance."

-HP-

A week or two before everyone was supposed to board the train to school, and Hermione was a nervous wreck. When Professor Dumbledore had visited the previous day, he had alluded to the fact that their letters would be coming that day and Hermione nerves were rattled. One of her hopes and dreams could possibly come true today and it all hinged on her receiving a badge in her envelope.

As soon as she woke up, she quietly got dressed so as to not wake up Ginny, and made her way down to the dining room. She was met as usual at the table by both Sirius and Mrs. Weasley.

"Morning Hermione," said Sirius as he continued to drink his coffee. As school began drifting closer and closer, Sirius was getting more and more withdrawn. She figured that he enjoyed all the company that he had over the summer holiday, even the Weasleys who were all either going to school or going back to the Burrow once the new term had started. It didn't take a lot of intelligence to figure that Harry's presence the last couple of weeks had brightened him up the most. He was finally getting the chance to connect with his godson.

"Morning Sirius. Has either Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall been through yet?"

"Not yet," replied Sirius with a smirk. He along with every other person who knew Hermione well, understood that her academic performance was one of the most important things to her. She sat down as Molly hustled over to give her breakfast before the three began eating in silence.

It was several minutes before the other occupants of Grimmauld Place made their way down for breakfast. The atmosphere was slightly more subdued than usual, but this was mostly because Mrs. Weasley had informed everyone that the teens wouldn't be going to Diagon Alley later that day. Instead, a few Order members were tasked with acquiring everyone's school supplies.

It wasn't until a few hours later once everyone had moved to the sitting room that Professor McGonagall arrived carrying everyone's Hogwarts letters. Hermione graciously accepted her letter, and by the weight of it, she could tell that there was something extra in her envelope. She was about to open it when a voice behind her caught her attention.

"You're going to Hogwarts with us?" she heard Ron's voice say from behind her. Turning around, she noticed that Fleur had received a Hogwarts letter as well. Glancing at Harry, she could tell that he was just as surprised as everyone else as Fleur's cheeks began to redden.

"I didn't mean to keep it from everyone this long, but I wanted it to be a surprise." Hermione turned her head when she saw Harry moving forward to embrace his girlfriend with a goofy grin on his face. She felt the ever familiar and confusing pang in her heart that she could not exactly place before returning to her letter. She quickly opened it and was elated to see that inside was a badge embroiled with the letter 'P' on it.

"I knew you'd get the badge," said Ron as he walked up to her and gave her a one-armed hug. She was so ecstatic that she quickly retuned the awkward hug.

"I can't believe I made Prefect!"

"Come off it. Who else in Gryffindor was going to get it besides you?"

She was inclined to agree, but his words caused her to wonder who the other 5th year Prefect would be.

"Did you also make Prefect Ron?" If she was honest with herself, she hoped that it was Ron. Not that anyone else would be a problem, but she wanted to work with someone that wouldn't be awkward.

"No, not me. Makes sense though, doesn't it?"

She heard a gasp from the other side of the room, and turned to see Harry also holding a Prefect badge. Hermione was both happy and a little disappointed by Harry's appointment as Prefect. Though she agreed that there probably wasn't anyone in Gryffindor who was a better choice, but her confusing feelings as of late would only help to make the situation more awkward.

Instead she decided that she would be happy for her best friend. "Harry, this is wonderful. We'll be able to do our patrols together, use the Prefect's Bathroom, and…" Her ramblings were silenced when Harry unexpectedly initiated a hug with her before reminding her that she had to breathe. She blushed as she pulled away and the conversation around the room turned towards a new year at Hogwarts.

Later that night, Hermione decided to head to bed early, despite the celebration over her and Harry becoming Prefects was still going on. Party's weren't really her thing so she decided to try and go to sleep at a decent hour, despite the protests of everyone else. Once she was in her room, she opened up the novel that she had started reading a few days ago and tried to get engrossed in the story.

Try being the operative word. Her mind kept returning to the fact that Harry was her fellow Prefect. She repeatedly tried to reassure herself that everything would be fine, but she couldn't help the nagging feeling that the situation would be awkward despite her best efforts.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. Confused, since it was obvious that whoever knocked wasn't Ginny, she called for the person to come in. The door opened to reveal a lightly concerned looking Harry.

"Hey."

"Hey."

An awkward silence descended on the room and she couldn't help but worry that this was what their relationship would be doomed to be from now on.

"I just want to say –""I wanted to make sure-"

They both stared at each other before they both burst out laughing at their own behavior. After they regained control of their breathing, Harry was the one to break the ice.

"I wanted to make sure that we were okay. I figured since we're going to be spending even more time together, I didn't want there to be some kind of rift between us." He appeared thoughtful for a minute, as if trying to find the right words to say. "I've noticed that you've been a little…off, ever since Fleur and I have gotten together. I want you to know that even though I have a girlfriend now, no one could ever to take your place Hermione."

Her eyes began to involuntarily water up at his statement. Of course he noticed her slight change in behavior. His concern was very touching to her, strengthening her resolve to try and get along with Harry as normally as possible.

"Oh Harry, it's not that. It's just that…I wanted you too to have time to yourselves since your dating now. I know that you'd never throw away my friendship but," she paused her speech, realizing that she also needed to choose her words carefully, "I couldn't help but feel we would have as much time together from now on."

Harry moved from his standing position to it next to her on the bed, draping his arms across her shoulders once he got settled. "I know that I'll need to spend more of my time with Fleur, but don't start to think for one second that you can get rid of me that easily," he stated with a cheeky grin. Hermione's only response was to chuckle, glad that her relationship with Harry hopefully wouldn't be changing.

-HP-

Fleur sat nervous during her first trip aboard the Hogwarts Express. The trip to King's Cross station had been quite the adventure, the hustle and bustle of all the Weasleys trying to pack at the last minute added to the already energy filled atmosphere. She was surprised to find out that the station was within walking distance from headquarters. The group walked in multiple pairs; Harry and Hermione were with Remus while Sirius tagged along as Padfoot, Fleur was with her family, Ginny and Ron walked with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, while the twins were lastly accompanied by Mad-Eye and Tonks.

The walk there was a tense was as Sirius insisted on seeing Harry off despite the fact that he still had a Kiss on Sight order still hanging over his head. On top of that, Mr. and Mrs. Delacour were as withdrawn as they had been their whole stay at Grimmauld Place, choosing to quietly grumble over the fact that their daughter was going to a British school.

They all entered the station, covertly maneuvered through barrier between platforms 9 and 10, and Fleur was looking for a compartment on the train with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Once they all got situated, they began idly chatting until the train got underway. Her mind drifted towards the conversation that took place as the train started to make its way.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _You okay Fleur? You seem a little nervous."_

" _It is nothing 'Arry. It's just zat zis is my first time going to Hogwarts as a student."_

 _A smile quickly crossed Harry's face as a thought crossed his mind. "You're right. Since this is your first year as a Hogwarts student, I think you should see the school properly." She was confused by his words as a knowing smile crossed Hermione's features._

" _Harry that's a wonderful idea!"_

" _What do you mean by see it properly?"_

 _Harry smile only continued grow as he began to speak, "Well it's tradition for first years to take a boat ride to the castle and see the view of Hogwarts from the lake. Seeing as it is your first year…" She couldn't believe that his grin was continuing to get even bigger and bigger._

" _I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of ze water."_

" _Oh come one Fleur. It'll be wonderful. I swear you won't regret it."_

" _Oh alright fine!"_

 _The Conversation continued until Ron excused himself to try and find his brother's while Hermione informed Harry that they had a Prefect's meeting to get to. Fleur couldn't stop a slight look of disappointment on her face as the two of them got up to go. Before leaving, Harry looked back at her briefly before telling Hermione to go on ahead. He sat down next to her, an expression of concern on his face._

" _Is everything okay Fleur?"_

 _She tried her best to give him a reassuring smile, even though she knew she failed. How was she supposed to bring up the idea that she was uncomfortable with her boyfriend spending a lot of his time with another girl? She had repeatedly reminded herself that Harry and Hermione were just friends and that she should be happy for them, but she could never write shake the doubt._

" _It's nothing." She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't buying it, so she resigned herself to taking the direct approach. "Actually…I was wondering one thing," she turned herself towards him, wishing to see his face as she asked, "What exactly are your feelings towards Hermione?"_

 _Harry's brows scrunched up as he pondered her question. It was true that he felt differently for Hermione than he did for most girls, even Fleur, but at the same time he couldn't help but notice the similarities between his thoughts on Fleur and Hermione. There were some similarities between the two but they were different enough. As he thought about this, he came to the conclusion that since he felt that he had romantic feeling for Fleur, that his feelings towards Hermione were similar to that of one's siblings._

" _She's like a sister to me," he said as he noticed the subtle relived look on Fleur's face, "we've always been close, but my feelings towards her are different to my feelings towards you." As a final show, he leaned forward and place a light kiss on her lips, hoping to convey that she had nothing to worry about through his actions._

 _As they pulled a part, Fleur could only smile as she ushered him away so that he wouldn't get in trouble._

 _ **Flashback Ends**_

Fleur was shaken from her thoughts as the train roared to a halt. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned from their activities, so they could all exit the train together. As they made their way through Hogsmeade Station, Harry directed her over to Hagrid, who would help her find the boats.

Once sat in a boat that she managed to get all to herself, she drifted along the Black Lake with all the first years, before her eyes were assailed by the wondrous sight of Hogwarts. She decided that Harry was in fact right about how this view was like any other that she'd seen. As the castle came closer, Fleur felt a feeling of hope that she hadn't felt in a long time, and began to imagine an amazing year at Hogwarts.

Little did she know of the trial and tribulations that lay ahead for them all.

 _ **AN:**_

 _ **So we finally wrapped up the summer and are making our way into fifth year. There will be some similarities to canon. Specifically, I will say that both Umbridge and the DA will play a role in this year, but there will be plenty of changes on the horizon. I envision this story going on for about 45-50 chapters so we're right around halfway done.**_

 _ **I want to address ne issue that some people voiced about Harry getting off on his conviction despite him being a werewolf. My three points about that are 1. Since Dumbledore stated that there have been werewolves at Hogwarts without incident, then that already nullifies a lot of the argument. Even if the Wizengamont is corrupt, it's still the governing body and they have to worry about people being outraged that the wizarding world's savior being kicked out of school.**_

 _ **2\. Harry is still the Boy-Who-Lived, despite his change of status. Harry being a werewolf causes two much cherished ideas to compete against each other; that werewolves are dangerous and that Harry is savior of the wizarding world. Since he hasn't harmed anyone, people will be less likely to view him as dangerous, so I feel many will still view him as the BWL. Imagine the backlash if the public believed that their savior was discriminated against.**_

 _ **3\. Most people don't buy into the Pure-Blood beliefs. If they did, then the Death Eaters would have had no issue assuming complete control over the government. That means that though most wizards are cautious against werewolves, they probably wouldn't go as far as t claim that individuals that are afflicted somehow aren't human.**_

 _ **I just wanted to get that off my chest, but I hope everyone has enjoyed my story so far,**_

 _ **As always, Thanks for Reading!**_


	27. War on Three Fronts

Chapter 27 – War on Three Fronts

Harry and Hermione were on their first late night patrol as Prefects for the year. They were fortunate enough to be the last nightly patrol for the week, which meant that they were patrolling on the weekend and didn't have to worry about classes the next day.

All and all, they had a very successful run, they managed to help one Hufflepuff first year find his way back to his common room, collect some lost school books before taking them to Professor McGonagall, and finally had managed to find a potential prank that the Twins had planted. Harry had wanted to leave the prank there, seeing as he was the Twins' secret endorser, but a glare from Hermione hade shut him right up.

They continued their patrol down into the dungeons, Marauder's Map in hand, and noticed noises coming from a nearby broom closet. They double-checked the map first, before Hermione opened the door on the two Slytherins inside.

"Come on Davis, Zabini," with a flourish of her arm, the two quickly exited the cupboard with reddened faces, "This is the second time we caught you two this week, we're going to have to deduct points for this." The both Blaise and Tracey's faces quickly dropped into glares at both Harry and Hermione, but by this point, the two of them were used to it. "25 points from Slytherin. Now go back to your dorms." Harry watched the map to make sure that they went back to the Slytherin common room, before continuing their patrol.

After deducting points from the couple, they were making their way out of the Dungeons when Hermione noticed a grin on Harry's face.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" she asked with a faked haughtiness, but her amusement was clear in her voice. Harry turned towards her, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"You like doing this don't you?"

"Of course," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I appreciate the fact that I've been given this responsibility and feel as though I have to use it. Why do you ask?"

The grin on his face didn't diminish one bit. "It's just that, you take yourself so seriously that I think you need to loosen up every once in a while. You're going to drive yourself spare once O.W.L.S. start."

Hermione considered his words carefully. She initial wanted to rebuke his claim, but when she thought about it, she had to admit that he may be right. She remembered how she had nearly ran out of gas in Third year when she had the time-turner and realized that she didn't want a repeat of it.

"I guess you may have a point Harry. I'll try my best." She looked Harry in the eye as se said this and could see the pride and affection that were behind his emerald irises. His gaze was so penetrating that she had to look away for a few seconds as a flush spread through her cheeks. Once she had regained her natural color, she turned to continue their patrol, soft footsteps behind her indicating that Harry was not far behind.

They ventured on in a companionable silence, allowing Harry to reflect on how different this year was, even after one week.

 _Flashback_

 _Dumbledore rose to his feet to deliver his welcome back speech as he did every year. He went through the list of banned items as he did every year and told the new students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits. It seemed as though the speech was going as it always had, but Harry couldn't help but notice two details. Hagrid wasn't at the Professor's table and there were two new faces sitting there. He swore that the one witch that vaguely resembled a toad looked oddly familiar._

" _This year we have two changes in staff. Firstly," Dumbledore motioned to his left towards a very official looking man, "I ask you to welcome Professor Isaac Warren, whom the Ministry has kindly appointed to help fill in as our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." The applause for the man was subdued at best, it was obvious that he felt affronted by his response if the scowl on his face was anything to go by._

" _Next it is my pleasure to announce that Madam Dolores Umbridge, will be taking the position of Care For Magical Creatures Professor." Harry's eyes couldn't help but widen at this news. A quick scan of his friend indicated that they felt the dame, but their thoughts were interrupted by a "hem hem," coming from the front of the room._

 _Harry's mind quickly put the pieces together, as he finally realized where he'd seen this women before._

" _Oh no!"_

" _What is it Harry?"_

" _Umbridge, she was at my trial. She's one of Fudge's people." Everyone's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the implications. A feeling of dread settled upon them as they turned their attention back to the new Professor as she began to speak about the changes that were coming to Hogwarts."_

 _ **Flashback End**_

"Has Dumbledore mentioned what happened to Hagrid?"

"Sort of. He said that Hagrid was away on an Order mission. When the Ministry caught wind of it, they demanded that he be replaced due to his 'spotty track record' so they appointed two Professors instead of one."

Hermione gasped, "I can't believe they forced Dumbledore to sack Hagrid1"

"He's not completely sacked. Dumbledore told Fudge that he refused to dismiss Hagrid as Game's Keeper, so he'll still be around once he comes back. I just hope that we can survive this year with two Ministry puppets as teachers."

During the first week of classes, Professors Warren and Umbridge's classes left much to be desired. DADA under Warren was a dreadfully dull class, which paled in comparison to their Third and even Forth year class. Its shortcomings made the class feel even worse than Binns' class.

Care for Magical Creatures was stressful for completely different reasons. Professor Umbridge's class took place on a first floor classroom, instead of out on the grounds and she instructed the class through textbooks and class discussions. It was plainly obvious that the information she was providing was biased, but the extent of her bias went beyond the class itself. She never outright denied giving someone points for answering a question correctly, but Harry and Hermione noticed that she always gave Purebloods slightly more points.

Both Fleur and Hermione had advises Harry to keep his head down in her class and thankfully he had succeeded in doing so this week. It wasn't due to Umbridge's lack of trying, her veiled snipes at Harry, Dumbledore, and anything that went against the Ministries narrative were incredibly frequent. Though Harry knew that all of her comments were directed at him, he managed to keep a relatively level head, and escape each class unscathed.

Harry broke from his thoughts and gestured towards Hermione. "Come one, let's head in for the night." A quick nod of her head later, and the pair began their way back towards Gryffindor Tower.

-HP-

Dumbledore sat in his office as he contemplate his current situation. He was beginning to feel frustration over one of the most trying weeks he had ever had since taking over the mantel of Headmaster of Hogwarts. The name of his frustration, one Dolores Jane Umbridge.

Ever since her appointment as Care for Magical Creatures Professor, the woman had been doing her best to assert her authority over Hogwarts. During every staff meeting that the Professors had, which for various reasons had been multiple over the course of the past week, Umbridge had questioned every decision that he had made.

In the classroom, her teaching methods left much to be desired. She barely taught students enough for them to pass their O.W.L. exams under the guise of providing a safe learning environment. Many parents may believe that farce but Dumbledore understood that this was a political move. An uninformed public is a malleable, easily swayable public, a perfect means for a government to get its way.

Even worse was that when she didn't get her way, she would use her trump card of bringing the Minister in on various issues, which in the current political state would force Dumbledore to concede to her point. Many students and Professors alike had voiced concerns over her teaching methods but the women was untouchable.

Umbridge was merely a symptom of an even bigger problem. She represented a second front of which the current conflict was being contested, the political conflict. As long as the current administration denied Voldemort's return, the fight against the forces of darkness would be a difficult one.

The Order had been recruiting discreetly, yet surprisingly heavily for many months now, creating a force that stood a chance to not only face the Dark Lord, but also to possibly alter the political environment. Their number weren't enough to engage the Ministry directly, but they were slowly gaining a politically and hopefully they could convince the Ministry of Voldemort's return, or if need be oust the current administration for a new one.

Even as he thought about the war of public opinion with Minster Fudge, he had to force himself to remember that Voldemort was more important. He had to hope that the convincing Cornelius would be easy, because a strong government would be needed to stop Tom Riddle. This fight would not be an easy one, the evidence of which sat in front of him on his desk.

An ornate locket with an 'S' on its lid sat within arm's reach. It seemed strange that such an inconspicuous object could be the key to the fate of the wizarding world.

Dumbledore had his suspicions on what this object was, just as he had a suspicion that the same kind of evil resided within Harry. He needed to find out the truth to this puzzle, but he didn't have any solid answers. Though Harry's reaction to the locket pointed towards the possibility that the locket housed Voldemort's soul, it wasn't foolproof evidence.

Ever since the cursed item came into his possession, he'd been weighing his options on how to continue further. One method to finding the truth lied in the mind of Horace Slughorn. He had extracted a memory from the former Professor before but the memory was altered, rendering it useless. Dumbledore needed to bring him back to Hogwarts, but that meant that Severus would need to be appointed as the Defense Professor and by extension, the current Professor would have to be dismissed. Since Warren was appointed by the Ministry, his dismissal was easier said than done.

His other option was to bring Harry in to help destroy it. Bring Slytherin's locket, he suspected that it could only be opened using Parseltongue, which would force Harry's involvement. Dumbledore knew he would have to include Harry eventually, but he had hoped to have more time to train Harry. Time was of the essence however, so Dumbledore resigned himself to involving Harry as soon as possible.

He just hoped that he would have enough time to the save the young man's life before it was too late.

-HP-

Lucius Malfoy stood among his fellow Death Eaters, all ready for the first major attack since their master's return. Their target- Azkaban Prison.

Voldemort had stated that it was unacceptable that their brothers and sisters were being held captive by a false government. Once the seed was planted, the raid was organized was quick work, faster than any other attack during their first rise to power.

Since his resurrection, Lucius noticed the Dark Lord was more…erratic. He was quicker to anger, and thus quicker to deal out punishment, and he also seemed to be generally more aggressive. Most of the newer Death Eaters were ecstatic that they were moving forward with the salvation of their world but Lucius was more hesitant.

He would be lying if he didn't feel as though their cautiousness during the first war had been a part of their defeat, he felt as though this attack might be a little too obvious. The Dark Lord wished to remain in the shadows for as long as possible, but these ambitious moves were sure to cause stirrings in the Wizarding world. Lucius could only hope that he could use his relationship with the Minister to help defuse the situation before their movements became public knowledge.

"It is time for us to free those who have wrongfully imprisoned!"

A cheer rang out at the Dark Lord's instructions. The group of about 20 or so Death Eaters were chomping at the bit to begin, now just waiting for the final order. His master stepped forward, and began to fly off the Cliffside they were positioned on and began to soar towards the prison, his followers all in his wake.

Once they arrived at the prison they met a minimal resistance of a dozen wizards who were charged with guarding the prison. Lucius's effort to keep the number of Aurors low was a blessing to the attacking force, who with Voldemort at the front, were able to make short work of the defenders as the Dementors stood idly by.

Once all the Aurors were taken care of, Voldemort instructed Lucius to accompany him in releasing the prisoners. All the prisoners were released, Death Eaters and non-sympathizers alike, as their release would help disguise the true motivation behind the attack.

What startled Lucius the most was how many captive werewolves were eager to join their cause. Though he understood that they allied themselves with the 'mongrels' as he liked to think of them, due to the fear that they would provide, they never aligned with the Death Eater's agenda. Nearly a dozen captive werewolves were quick to join their cause, and many of the others were easily convinced after some provocation from Greyback. Lucius suspected that the use of Potter's blood in the ritual may have had something to do with this but he didn't wish to see the end of the Dark Lord's wand.

With fellow Death Eater's such as Dolohov and the Lestranges amongst them, Voldemort and his followers made to exit the prison but Lucius quickly noticed the absence of the Dementors.

"Aren't the Dementors on our side My Lord?" A cackle rang out of his master's mouth and Lucius feared that he may be on the receiving end of a torture curse, though it never came.

"Of course they are Lucius. The Dementor's true allegiance has always been with me, but until I move out into the open, they'll be more useful here in case more of our brothers and sister are imprisoned."

They continued to the edge of the prison where many of the escapees apparated out of there, either back to their home, or to the current Death Eater headquarters at Malfoy Manor. All that remained was the Dark Lord, Lucius, the Lestranges, and surprisingly, Viktor Krum.

"There are many pieces that need to be moved into place," he directed his gaze towards Rodulphus Lestarnge first, "Rodulphus, I need you to venture into Russia with Dolohov and convince the Giants of our cause. I've heard word that Dumbledore has already sent his people to try and reason with them; this cannot be allowed."

"Yes Milord," he answered before disapparating.

He moved onto to his wife Bellatrix and his brother Rabastan. "As for you two, it seems we are lacking in our number of Inferi. I'm sure the two of you can improve this." The two simply grinned before they too disapparated.

Hi gaze finally landed on Lucius and Krum. Though he knew better than to question his master, Lucius couldn't help but wonder what his master wanted Krum for.

"As for you two, both Dumbledore and his Protégé Potter have been a liability to our cause. I want you two to find a way to get rid of them as soon as possible,"

"Yes Milord." Voldemort tuned and disappeared followed shortly by Krum leaving Lucius alone with his thoughts. He understood that he had been given an important task by his master but he was at a loss as to how he would accomplish this. An idea entered his mind, one that he had previously wanted to put off for some time, but now was the perfect opportunity.

It was time for Draco to follow in his father's footsteps.

 _ **AN: Hey guys, sorry for the delay between updates. I was having difficulty deciding what I wanted from this chapter exactly. I know some people might see this chapter a filler, but I think it's important to see the multiple sides of this war, so I hope this chapter does a decent job doing so. Since it took me an extra week to get this chapter, I hope to get another chapter out by the end of next week.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading.**_


	28. Trials & Tribulations

Chapter 28 – Trials & Tribulations

' _Dolores Umbridge has been appointed as the first-ever High Inquisitor of Hogwarts'_

Even without any idea of what a High Inquisitor was, it was generally accepted that if it had anything to do with Umbridge, it wasn't a good thing.

The changes that came with Umbridge's new appointment started out small in the days following the announcement. Initially, she was found sitting in various classes throughout the day. She claimed that she was there to observe each professor's teaching methods and ensure that students were getting a satisfactory lesson.

The differences in how she observed various classes became obvious to many. She was mostly silent in classes such as DADA, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Astronomy, and Potions, only interrupting to praise their seemingly 'ministry approved methods'. However, in classes such as Charms or Transfiguration, she would challenge both Professor's methods and finding any reason to disrupt the lesson.

It was also clear, at least to Harry and many of his friends, that Umbridge had a tendency to be present for whatever class Harry or Fleur had that day. It was also obvious that her reasons for this were the same as why she targeted them in class, Harry because of the current political landscape, and Fleur because she was as Umbridge had once alluded to in class, a 'half-breed'.

When Harry had heard what she had implied in class, it had taken the effort of Fleur and the Twins to restrain him from marching down to her office and confronting her. Fleur quickly thanked him with a kiss for being upset for her, but she reminded him that he needed to keep his head down around her. Harry begrudgingly, couldn't disagree with her statement.

Harry was proud of himself for being able to reign in his temper and kept himself from lashing out. Fleur was a big help as well, as her methods were also helpful of keeping him in check. He blushed as he thought about said methods, the most recent being a particularly heated snog before they went to bed a few nights earlier.

Even as he, Ron, and Hermione made their way down too Care for Magical Creatures, his mood couldn't be ruined as he thought of his girlfriend. They had been dating for a month yet Harry still couldn't believe that she still wanted to be with him. Their relationship wasn't perfect, he felt that was overly stubborn, and she felt that he was broody, which caused some minor incidences but nothing outside of a small disagreement.

Once outside the classroom, his mood darkened as he prepared himself for the onslaught that would surely come. Waiting inside was the toad herself, a sickeningly sweet smile adorning her face. Everyone in the Gryffindor/Slytherin class sat down at their desks and opened their books to what they assumed to be the next lesson.

"Good morning class!"

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," came the less than warm response. If Umbridge noticed, she hid it very well behind her smile. She stood up from behind her desk and began to walk up and down the aisles as the class waited for her to begin the lesson.

"Today's lesson is going to be on semi-humanoid creatures." Harry's neck stiffened at her statement. Many heads around the room turned to glance at him, some slowly in an attempt to be a casual glance, but the overwhelming majority of the class didn't bother with subtlety as they looked directly at him. This was going to be a long class.

"Can anyone give me an example of such a creature?" Immediately, the hand of one Draco Malfoy shot into the air and was called on almost as soon as he began to move.

"Werewolves, Professor."

"Yes, very good Mr. Malfoy. 10 points to Slytherin." Her gaze briefly flicked over to Harry before she continued. "Yes, werewolves are one of the most common examples of semi-human beings. Now don't let that fool you, these people aren't the same as you and I, and should be interacted with, with extreme caution."

Harry's blood began to boil at her words; he wasn't prepare for a near direct attack against him. It was only through Hermione's hand on his arm and a whispered, "Remain calm," was he able to keep himself under control.

"There have been many reported occurrences of werewolves attacking wizards, which is why the Ministry had enacted heavy restrictions on those with lycanthropy. Many werewolves turn out to be savage, and savages deserve no place in our society." She had purposefully stopped near Harry, her sick enjoyment at his anger was there for all to see. Still Harry would not give in.

"Can anyone else name another example?" She again briefly looked at Harry and he knew exactly where she was going with this. Another Slytherin hand was raised, as Pansy Parkinson, answered, "Veela." Harry was at the point of visibly shaking.

"Another 10 points for Slytherin. Yes, Veela are another example of such a being. They are humanoid in nature and have a history of ensnaring male Wizards and reproducing." Harry briefly glanced to his left and saw that Umbridge's words were now angering Hermione as well. She and Fleur had become close friends during their time together and Harry felt a swell of pride for best friend.

"There have been few sightings of Veela in Britain, but beware, they are known to use their charm to sway young wizards." It seemed that she had abandoned any pretense of teaching anything useful for the day, her failure to get Harry riled up with her werewolf comments led to her essentially bashing Veela instead of providing any useful information.

"Now the list for semi-humanoid creatures includes centaurs, mermaids, and other similar creatures but I feel that this list should be expanded," she again glanced to the side but this time her gaze fell onto Hermione. "I think the list should be altered to only include magical individuals. That way members of our society can stay away fro-"

"Enough!" Harry had had it with Umbridge's charged comments. It had taken one look at Hermione and the sight of pure shock on her face coupled with the slight glistening of her eyes for him to be fed up with this farce. "I won't listen to you spreading your lies anymore!"

"I'm not the one telling lies Mr. Potter," smiling like the cat that got the canary, "and I don't appreciate your outburst during my class. I think a detention is in order for your outburst." Without another word she strode back up to her desk, but not before saying, "Class dismissed," and allowing everyone to go.

To say Harry was livid was a huge understatement, he quickly stood up once the class was dismissed and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower in a huff, despite the calls of Hermione, Ron, and Neville trying to calm him down.

Once back in the common room, he was quickly noticed by his girlfriend, who upon seeing that he was visibly furious, went over to try and calm him down.

"What's wrong 'Arry?"

He quickly recounted the events of Umbridge's class; towards the end Ron, Neville, and Hermione had finally showed up and corroborated his story. Both Fleur and Hermione were seemed displeased that Harry had let Umbridge get to him, though Hermione's was very miniscule due to her having actually been there.

"You shouldn't have let her get to you sweetie. Now she's got you exactly where she wants you."

"I agree Harry. Though I appreciate your outrage over her comments against muggles, you only managed to give her what she wants." Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look, relaying that she truly did appreciate his actions.

Harry drug his hands through his hair in frustration, "It's not just about what she said, it's everything on top of it," his eyes pleading looked to everyone else hoping they would understand. "It's what everyone is saying. About me, about Fleur."

He pointed one finger towards his ear and looked at Fleur. "Remember, I can hear everything that everyone has been saying about us. When she was about to suggest that muggles and muggleborns were no better than 'creatures', I'd had enough," he flopped down in a nearby chair, a mixture of shame, guilt, and exasperation flowed through his body. "I'm tired of all the whispers, you know?"

Ron, Hermione, and Neville all looked at each other; each of them understood that this was affecting Harry hard. He had experienced this kind of attention twice before, but now it was almost as bad as those times combined. Fleur however, didn't appear to be swayed.

Seeing that it was around the time for lunch in the Great Hall, the three Gryffindors decided to leave the couple to themselves. Once they were gone, Fleur spoke up.

""Arry, you mustn't care what other people think."

"I don't care if they believe me or not, sooner or later they'll see that I'm telling the truth about Voldemort. What I can't stand is that they see us as something less than human."

Fleur found it hard to understand where Harry was coming from. She was used to people spreading lies about her all of her life, and from her experience with Harry last year, she knew that he was too.

"I don't understand? I don't see the difference between the two."

"I can prove to them that I'm not delusional, that I'm not lying," his expression became sad again as his gaze dropped to the floor, "I'm not sure if I can prove to them that I'm not a monster." He opened his hands and studied them closely, his claws slowly elongating.

"You should embrace what you are. Their words aren't worth your time-"

"But I don't want to embrace what I am. It's not me!" Harry's raised voice shocked many of the people who were lingering in the common room including Fleur, he never shouted like this at her. "Even if some things in my life have improved since I was bitten, I never asked for it, I just want to be normal for one moment of my life!"

The silence that followed was a deafening one. All eyes were trained at Harry and Fleur as they continued to stare at one another, Harry's was pleading for her to accept his words, whereas Fleur's was a mixture of hurt and confusion.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry turned towards the entrance to see Professor McGonagall staring at him. His cheeks began reddening in embarrassment over his outburst.

"Yes professor?"

"The Headmaster wishes to speak with you in his office."

Harry desperately wanted to turn around and apologize to Fleur, but he knew that if Dumbledore asked to speak with him outside of their weekly meetings, it had to be important. He hesitantly headed for the door, hoping that whatever it was, it would be brief so he could apologize to his girlfriend.

He was left alone to his thoughts as he headed towards Dumbledore's office. He didn't know where his anger had come from, he was feeling increasingly more ashamed of himself as he walked farther away from his girlfriend. It wasn't that he disagreed with what he said, but he realized that he went about expressing those feelings completely wrong.

Once he reached the gargoyle protecting the stairway to Dumbledore's office, the gargoyle immediately stepped aside without a password and he continued on into the office.

Inside, he found Dumbledore standing next to his desk, the sword of Gryffindor in his hand. If this wasn't surprising enough, on the desk he saw the locket from Grimmauld Place. He immediately bristled as the memories from the last time he dealt with the locket, but Dumbledore saw his hesitation and greeted Harry.

"Hello Harry," began Dumbledore with the ever present twinkle in his eye, "I bet you're wondering why I called you here today?"

"At this point sir, I just kind of go with it." This earned a chuckle from the elderly wizard, which helped to break down some of the tension within Harry's body.

"Be that as it may, I find myself in need of your help with destroying this dark artifact," he motioned towards the locket and the feeling of dread washed over Harry once again. Was that hissing and a cracking noise he was hearing?"

"I don't understand how I would be helpful sir."

"Look closely at the locket Harry." He approached the locket cautiously, not wanting to risk another violent reaction if he were to accidently come in contact with it. He looked it over once, his eyes settling on an ornate 'S' on it's lid that resembled a snake.

"Salazar Slytherin," he exclaimed once the realization washed over him. Harry immediately understood what his purpose here was.

"That is correct Harry. In order to destroy the locket, it needs to be opened. Being that it once belonged to Slytherin himself, I have little doubt that Parseltongue will be required for this." Harry understood what needed to be done, but it didn't make him any more eager to be anywhere near this thing. "I must warn you though," Dumbledore's face turned more serious, "The locket may try to fight back. You must be ready."

Harry nodded his head, but he couldn't understand how a locket could fight back, no matter what kind of dark magic resided inside.

Dumbledore raised the sword slightly, in preparation for what was to come. A nod to Harry signaled that it was time.

" _Open"_

As soon as the locket sprang open, both Harry and Dumbledore were sent backwards a few feet, as an image vaguely resembling Voldemort appeared in the smoke that had begun billowing from the locket causing a sharp pain to erupt from behind his scar.

" _They will never accept you Harry Potter."_

Harry's head shot up as the image in front of him morphed into a monstrous version of himself, complete with razor sharp teeth, claws, and blood caked all over him.

" _They all will turn on you when they see the monster that you really are."_

Harry covered his hands over his ears. It wasn't true, they would never abandon him, but the locket continued to show his hearts worst fears as images of all the people he cared about appeared only to turn away. He tried to block out thee noises with his hands, but the pain in his scar forced his hands back over top of it.

" _Everyone. Your friend, your school mates, even the girl you love."_

He watched helplessly as the images of Ron, Hermione and Fleur began to turn away from him. He opened his mouth to cry out, but a loud clatter caught him off-guard as he saw Dumbledore had finally made it back to the locket and plunged the sword into it.

As soon as he did that, Harry felt pain erupt within his scar, even worse than the one he felt when the locket was speaking to him. He thrashed around for several seconds clutching his forehead before the pain ceased as quickly as it had come.

He slowly opened his eyes, an act that was surprisingly difficult; the light pouring in from one of the office's windows causing more pain inside his head. His eyes trained onto to Dumbledore, who he could've sworn had a look of extreme sadness on his face, before quickly schooling it to a more neutral expression.

"What was that sir?"

"I'm afraid that my terrible predictions have come true," Harry could sense that there was more to Dumbledore's words, but the dull ache in his brain prevented him from pondering it any further, "That Harry, was the secret to Voldemort's escape from death." He sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk, his face a sullen mask as the Sword of Gryffindor loudly clattered to the floor.

"That my boy…was a Horcrux."

 _ **AN: So there we go, Harry finally knows about the Horcruxes. I've decided to spread out the finding of all the Horcruxes over the course of the story instead of finding 3 of them within hours of each other like in the book.**_ _**I hope everyone liked my nod to the 6th book when Harry meets with Dumbledore.**_

 _ **I included that moment between Harry and Fleur because I wanted to showcase that their relationship isn't perfect. Like how Hermione has trouble understanding Harry's changes since being bitten, Fleur has trouble understanding that he doesn't want to be a werewolf.**_

 _ **Last thing, if anyone was wondering about those three stories I was working on, it'll be a little bit longer. I have one ready to go and had finished the second one, but I broke my flash drive so I lost the second story. Hopefully they'll all be ready in a week or two.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	29. The Birth of an Army

Chapter 29 – Birth of an Army

After the startling revelation in Dumbledore's office, Harry wasn't sure how he managed to stumble his way back to Gryffindor tower. He had suspected that killing Voldemort wouldn't be simple, but to think that he had somehow found a way to cheat his own death, was a little more than upsetting.

As the week went on, Harry kept within himself, only occasionally joining in to nearby discussions so nobody would think that anything was wrong, though it was obvious that he wasn't fooling anybody. Not even the repeated jabs from Umbridge would bring him out of himself.

It wasn't until he was leaving the Great Hall after lunch 4 days later with Ron, Hermione, and Fleur that his girlfriend had had enough. Halfway up the corridor, she raced up to him and grabbed him by the elbow.

"'Arry enough of this. Tell us what is wrong with you!"

Harry overcame his initial shock at her statement and managed to reign in his frustration. "It's nothing sweetie. I just have a lot on my mind."

"It's not just that. Something is clearly bothering you, and I can't-we can't help unless you tell us."

A range of emotions passed through his mind, most prominent was his apathy towards putting his friends in such a position, but his frustration was still present. "Look, you're right Fleur. There is something, but it is something that I need to come to terms with myself before I talk about it with everyone."

Fleur's barely controlled anger seemed to implode suddenly, "You always do this Harry. Why can't you trust any of us? Why don't you trust me?"

Harry immediately felt ashamed for his actions, he just didn't realize that they affected Fleur as much as they did. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the Veela had stormed off before he had the chance. He stood rooted to the spot for several seconds unable to make himself go after her, until he felt a hand on his left shoulder.

"Does it really bother you two that I have a hard time sharing things?"

"Everyone's got their secrets mate," came Ron's vice from his right, followed by a quick pat on his back.

"Well I won't say that it doesn't frustrate me," came Hermione's voice accompanied by a squeeze from the hand on his shoulder, "but we understand you'll tell us with time" she kept to herself how she suspected his home life bolstered his self-reliance.

"I should go find her and apologize. Once I do, I'll tell you guys everything that Dumbledore told me."

"Where do you think she went mate? There's dozens of places she could go in the castle."

Instead of answering, Harry simply closed his eyes and tried to get a lock onto Fleur's scent. Once he got it, he began to follow it with Ron and Hermione not far behind. Surprisingly, the scent lead him right to Gryffindor Tower.

Once inside they were met by a second surprise. Standing in the middle of the common room were both Professor McGonagall and Professor Umbridge who both appeared to be having a very heated discussion. Glancing around the room, Harry found Fleur sitting in their usual spot, her attention so focused on the book in her lap, that he knew that she was doing everything in her power to not look in is direction. He began to walk over and apologize before he was intercepted halfway through the room.

"Mr. Potter," began Umbridge with her signature overly-sweet looking smile which could usually pass as almost sincere if it wasn't for the dangerous glint in her eyes. "I have a few questions for you that I wish to have answered."

A quick glance at McGonagall informed him that he wasn't going to like where this conversation was heading.

"I have been told," she began as she paced around the room, her smile turning into a smug sneer, "that you have been seen meeting with the Headmaster on a regular basis throughout this term. Now, since it isn't normal for the head of a school to meet with a student so regularly, I want to know why you have been meeting him."

Harry simply stood his ground, not wanting to give her the satisfaction that her words were only adding to his ever present frustration. "What I see Professor Dumbledore about is between me and him. If you want to know so badly, why don't you ask him?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek Mr. Potter." Harry quickly realized that he was at a disadvantage during this discussion, so he wracked his brain for a plan for how he could get out of this situation.

"For your information I have approached the Headmaster about this yet he refuse to give me a straight answer."

' _So you come after me because you actually have power over me'_ Harry thought.

"I don't see why you need to know why he calls me to his office Professor." The sarcasm was practically dripping through his last words and whether or not Umbridge noticed it, she continued onward.

"It is my duty, as it is for all Hogwarts professors, to ensure that all students are kept safe and given quality information that would benefit them outside of school. Since both you and Dumbledore keep pushing the lie that a certain dark wizard has returned, it is my duty to make sure that my students aren't seduced by your misinformation."

Harry had just about had enough of Umbridge's lies. Even though he could tell by the predatory smirk on her face that he was playing right into her hands, he couldn't keep the eruption at bay any longer.

He was about to respond when a voice from the corner of the common room beat him to it.

"The Headmaster is helping 'Arry with his transformations, said Fleur as she put her book down and rose from her seat. "With the stress of O.W.L.s and everything else that is going on, e' is worried that his control might slip and he wants to prevent that."

Harry was surprised that Fleur had decided to come to his aid. He wanted to look her in the eyes and thank her but her gaze still remained away from his, bringing another bout of shame within him. She was willing to help him even though she was angry with him.

' _What have I done to deserve you'_ Harry thought in amazement.

Fleur was still not done yet, as she prepared to drive in the final nail in the coffin. "You wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize your student would you professor?"

If looks could kill, Fleur would've burst into flames from the glare that Umbridge was directing at her. Her eyes were moving furiously, as she tried to come up with a way to counter. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. With the return of her sickly grin, she realized that though she couldn't win this confrontation, she could win another battle.

"You are correct Ms. Delacour, I wouldn't promote any action that would jeopardize the safety of Hogwarts' students and faculty," Harry felt knew that she wasn't finished and a feeling of dread began to wash over him, "what I must doo however, is ensure that all students are given the same opportunities and that no one has an unfair advantage over anyone else."

Umbridge then motioned towards McGonagall, "Minerva, I am ordering that Mr. Potter be removed from the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

An eruption came from every corner of the common room, ranging from "No!", "You can't do that!", and "That's unfair!" The uproar continued until they were silenced by a wave of Umbridge's wand.

"Now, Mr. Potter has an unfair advantage due to his…condition," her words barely covering the disdain she felt, "It is unfair to any other student who either plays against a team that he is on or tries out for the same team. You 24 hours Minerva." She then quickly left Gryffindor tower, a wide smile across her face.

"Can she do that, Professor?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley but with her position as _High Inquisitor_ and her close relationship with the Minister, there isn't much we can do to stop her," her eyes locked with Harry's her expression was enough to tell Harry how bad she felt for him, "I'm sorry Mr. Potter." She too then left the common room, leaving and eerily quiet Gryffindor house behind.

Many people approached Harry offering their condolences, while the others were either looked at him with disdain or had also had masks of pity on their faces. Harry simply waved all of them off, pushing the sinking feeling in his chest aside as he made his way towards his girlfriend who had returned to her previous position.

If she noticed that he had sat down next to her, she did not show it. Harry sat there gazing into the fireplace for a few moments trying to figure out how to best start this conversation, eventually deciding on a direct approach.

"I'm sorry Fleur." The only sign that she had heard him was that the finger she was using to skim the page she was on paused for a brief moment before continuing on. "I know that you, Ron, and Hermione get frustrated with me when I don't tell you things, but believe me, I'm trying."

He paused for a moment to organize his thoughts, glancing over at his two best friends, receiving a small smile from Hermione and a thumbs up from Ron.

"I promise that I will try to do better and keep all of you in the loop. All I ask is for another chance."

Fleur sighed before finally closing her book and looking directly at her boyfriend. "I understand that it is hard for you to trust others 'Arry, but you don't have to handle everything alone. We've been together for a few months now and Ron and Hermione have been your friends for years. We can handle everything you can throw at us."

Harry's mind once again drifted to the prophecy, and he realized that he was going to break his own promise before it even began. He just couldn't face his best friend's reactions to him being a marked man. He knew that he was being unfair but he decided that he would cross that bridge when they got there.

"Okay, I promise." With a renewed smile on her face, Fleur leaned forward slowly and softly brushed her lips against his. His arms found her waist as hers entangled in his hair as the two got lost in the feeling of each other. This kiss was different than the one's they had had up until this point. What was usually a slow meandering affair was replaced by one of urgency and passion.

They might've gone on for hours if it wasn't for a throat-clearing from Ron alerted them to the openness of their affections.

"Sorry about that," Harry said as he rubbed his neck a little awkwardly, "I guess I should tell you guys what Dumbledore told me."

Fleur and his best friends settled in around him as Harry revealed Dumbledore's theories on Voldemort's Horcruxes.

-HP-

The week following his dismissal from Quidditch was hell, Harry had decided. He had thought that Umbridge would take her victory and run with it, but he hadn't expected her to go as far as she has with it.

If Umbridge's rule over Hogwarts was tyrannical before, it was now full on totalitarian. No less than 11 educational decrees had gone up in the last few days, ranging from the banning of any print media other than the Daily Prophet, no public displays of affection in the hallway, and the banning of all student organized groups including Quidditch.

Her presence was felt further in the classes she had decided to inspect. Whereas she usually kept to herself in most classes, she made sure her presence was felt in every class she attended. Classes like Potions and Divination became even worse, while even Professor Warren was noticeably disgruntled by her increased interference in his class.

Her attention also extended to both Hermione, Fleur, and any other student who supported Harry and Dumbledore. Students such as Ron, Susan Bones, Cho Chang, and members of all non-Slytherin houses found themselves under increased scrutiny and were more liable to lose points than those who supported Umbridge.

Fleur found herself under increased work due to her not having taken O.W.L.s. She suspected that her Veela status also had something to do with it, but there was little he could do. Umbridge was making her have to take an O.W.L. exam before she could take her N.E.W.T.s, which wasn't terrible because she had learned the information before, but now she had to use her precious study and schoolwork time to study for the test, which she was supposed to take before the Christmas holiday.

Hermione was also subjected to an increased workload. With Umbridge's increased power, she also had a say on the Prefect's patrol schedule. Using this power, she made it so that Hermione was forced to patrol more frequently than any other 5th year Prefect also cutting into her work time. Her increased schedule forced her to have to patrol with the likes of Malfoy on multiple occasions, who used his position close to Umbridge, to force Hermione to watch him mistreat students every time they went on patrol.

Later, during one of her night patrols with Harry that they approached the scene of Malfoy. Nott, and Zabini accosting a Ravenclaw girl. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the girl was Luna, who was clutching a copy of _The Quibbler_ to her chest as the trio of Slytherins boxed her in.

"Leave her alone Malfoy!"

"You should mind your own business Potter. That piece of garbage she calls a magazine is banned on school grounds. I'm simply doing my duty as a prefect and confiscating with the help of my dorm mates."

Harry clenched his jaw and his fists as he took a threatening step towards hem. "It's a little sad that you felt you needed the help of two other 5th years to take on one 4th year Malfoy."

Malfoy matched his step forward with Nott and Zabini at his flanks. "Looks like the number are even now Potter, unless you feel scared."

Before things could get out of hand a voice rang out from behind Harry and Hermione, "Detention Mr. Potter!"

Harry could only groan. Of course that would be the moment that Umbridge decided to show up.

"We were just trying to prevent the mistreatment of a fellow student Professor."

"That is none of your concern Ms. Granger. I had received word that this student was scene carrying a copy of a banned magazine around the school. I had dispatched Mr. Malfoy and told him to confiscate said item."

"Then why are both Nott and Zabini involved? Last time I checked only Prefects had that authority."

"A detention for you too Ms. Granger for your cheek. As to your question, Mr. Malfoy and his friends have all been appointed as a part of my Inquisitorial Squad and I assure you that they have more of a right to be involved than you do."

Umbridge then quickly strode forward, snatching _The Quibbler_ from Luna's grasp before leaving with her cronies in tow.

Luna's eyes immediately began to water prompting Hermione to wrap the girl in a hug. Though she disagreed with many of Luna's beliefs, she still thought her treatment was completely unfair.

"We need to do something about her Harry."

"What can we do Hermione? You've seen what she's willing to do."

Hermione stood up, bringing Luna up with her, her eyes were focused with a determination that Harry usually associated with an exam.

"We won't learn anything in a school where she can do and order whatever she wants." Her gaze dropped over to Harry, who suddenly had an idea of where her next idea would be going. "What we need…is someone who can teach us"

 _ **AN: So this chapter is just a continuation of the previous chapter. I wanted to give the characters more reason to start the DA because in the books, I feel like Umbridge gets worse after they start the DA, so I wanted her to already be power hungry by the time they decide that something needs to be done.**_

 _ **Next chapter I want to return to what Voldemort is doing while also forwarding things like the Horcruxes and more of Harry and Fleur's relationship.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	30. Those Who Know Need Only Ask

Chapter 30 – Those Who Know Need Only Ask

Harry felt conflicted as he prepared himself for the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. On one hand, today would be his first official date with Fleur since they began dating over the summer and he was understandably a nervous wreck.

On the other hand, today was the day that they were meeting other students to set up some kind of underground tutoring group. He was more than a little apprehensive about the whole thing, most people nowadays chose to ridicule him and he found it hard to believe that any decent number of students would want to learn from him.

Rushing downstairs to the common room, he was met by Ron and Hermione who were already sitting down in their usual spots. Seeing that Fleur had yet to come down from her dormitory, he decided to sit with them until his girlfriend made her way down.

"What are you guys doing today," Harry asked as he gave Fleur a quick kiss on her cheek. Since the two of them planned to have their date before the meeting later they were going to spend most of the trip by together, leaving Ron and Hermione to spend time with themselves.

"Well," Hermione began, a slight blush crossing her features, "we figured we'd spend our time walking around the shops, maybe grab a bite at the Three Broomsticks or Madame Puddifoot's."

Harry's brows shot up to his hairline at this unexpected turn of events. The thought that his two best friends could be interested in each other was news to him.

"That's great! You two deserve to have a little fun." He genuinely meant what he said. He felt happy for the two of them, specifically for Hermione. He felt bad since he'd been spending more time with Fleur, even though he had been trying to spend more time with his two best friends.

Despite all this, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. Hermione was one of the most important people in his life and that no none would be good enough for her. He mentally paused at this, confused by his own thoughts.

' _She's like family to me so of course I would feel defensive towards anyone she dates.'_

Not seeing any faults in this logic, he wrapped his arms around his girlfriends' waist, the four of them making for the carriages.

-HP-

As she made her way through Hogsmeade with Ron in tow, Hermione couldn't deny that she was enjoying herself. Ron had somewhat surprisingly been on his best behavior for the entire trip. Not once did he complain when she requested to go into a bookstore located in town, even going as far as to graciously carry her books for her.

She could tell that the redhead was extremely nervous, if his extra fidgety demeanor was anything to go by. He would jump slightly whenever he remembered that he should hold the door for her and would scramble to make it their before she did. She found this and all the other little quirks endearing.

She even enjoyed their trips into the other shops, including Zonko's and Honeyduke's which even surprised her. Today was one of the most fun trips to the village that she had ever had, the whole day reminded her of her first trip into Hogsmeade two years prior, a day that was also just her and Ron.

They stopped at the Three Broomsticks to meet up with Harry and Fleur before heading to the Hogshead. Upon entering the tavern, they managed to find a table and order a few Butterbeers while they waited for their friends.

As they drank, Hermione's mind wandered to her two best friends. Her mind and emotions were in a jumbled mess due to her apparent attraction to her and Ron's other best friend. She still didn't quite believe that what she felt for Harry was anywhere near romantic feelings, she did believe that whatever they were, she needed to get over them because Fleur was now the most important girl in his life, despite his repeated assurances.

Which was why she had put forth the idea that her and Ron go to Hogsmeade as a date. She liked Ron well enough, and she could see herself eventually falling fr him, but it was a little early to say.

"I had a great time today," she began a little timidly. This was the first time since she initiated the idea that the fact that they were in fact, on a date, came up and she felt nervous about broaching the topic.

"I had a good time too." Ron's smile was infectious and instantly made her feel a lot better. Maybe this whole thing would work out after all. The silence turned from uncomfortable to their usual companionable one, until Harry and Fleur showed up.

After recounting their exploits for today, both couples had apparently had amazing dates, the four of them finished their drinks before heading out to start their meeting.

-HP-

Following the meeting at the Hogshead, Harry was surprisingly optimistic about leading a study an illegal study group. Of the 30 or so students who showed up to the meeting, only a few of them showed up just to find out about the end of the previous year.

Their incessant questions on whether or not he was fit to lead this group and whether or not he was lying about the Dark Lord's return nearly caused him to take his ball and walk away, the only thing preventing him was the support of Hermione, Ron, and Fleur who went on to recount everything that Harry had been through up until that point, effectively shutting all the naysayers mouths.

After all was said and done, the meeting had actually turned out to be a success. It seemed that besides one person who walked due to his refusal to open up, everyone else was there to learn at least on some level. With everyone signing a sheet that enforced their confidentiality, all they needed was to find a place to hold their meetings.

That was how Harry, Fleur, Ron, and Hermione found themselves standing outside of a 7th floor corridor waiting for Dobby's arrival. After many such places as unused classrooms, the Shrieking Shack, and the Forbidden Forest were all deemed unusable, Harry had off-handedly asked Dobby if he knew of any potential meeting places.

A loud _'Pop!'_ signaled Dobby's arrival in front of them.

"This is the place Harry Potter sir!" He motioned to the blank wall behind them as if the answer to all their problems were there. Glancing at his other companions, Harry saw their faces in many phases of disbelief and exasperation.

"Uhh Dobby…there's nothing here."

Dobby's smile didn't let up, as the elf hobbled his way up to the wall, shut his eyes, and muttered something as he walked back and forth in front of the wall. Once he'd completed his third walk passed, a door magically appeared on the previously blank wall startling the quartet.

Ron found his voice first uttering a quick, "Where did that come from?" voicing the question that was on all their minds.

Harry took the first step forward and opened the door, revealing a room that was filled with aisles upon aisles of items.

"The other elves call this the Room of Lost Things," said Dobby as he followed the group into the room. Hermione gasped as realization washed over her.

"This is the Room of Requirement," she stated excitedly. The other three looked at her confusedly, not completely understanding what she was talking about. "It's also called the Come and Go Room. I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_. I thought it was only a rumor."

"That's interesting and all Hermione but what exactly does that all mean?" Hermione leveled Ron with a stern look before beginning her explanation.

"This room is designed to provide a person with exactly what they need. Since most students want to find a way to get rid of illicit items quickly, this version of the room is where all those items are kept."

"Wicked! It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back." The possibilities were running through Harry's head endlessly. "So we could use this room as a place where we could meet up and not be caught by Umbridge."

"Yes Harry Potter sir! All yous needing to do is be leaving the room and then ask for what yous need."

Harry turned to exit the room to do just that, but he was stopped briefly by Fleur.

"We should check out the rest of this room "Arry." She turned to look at the many piles and aisles in the room. "There could be somezing in here that could be useful."

Harry couldn't fault her logic, so they split up into two groups, Harry and Fleur, and Ron and Hermione. Harry and Fleur began to investigate the right side of the room. Most of the items that they stumbled upon were old textbooks, brooms, and a few cloaks that were doxy infested but it seemed that most of the items that they came across would be of little use in their endeavors.

They turned to leave and began heading back the way they came before Harry stopped in his tracks. Fleur turned around to ask what was wrong and was met by a glowing-eyed Harry. He was staring towards the middle of the room, completely statue-like except for the measured rise and fall of his chest.

Slowly he began to make his way towards the center of the room, with Fleur following cautiously behind him.

After about a minute of walking, Fleur noticed him moving towards a bust that appeared to be wearing a tiara. She watched as he slowly extended his hand, which she now noticed were sporting his elongated claws, and reach for the tiara. She quickly strode forward and stopped his hand at the wrist.

"'Arry!"

This seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. He shook his head briefly and looked around trying to determine where he was. Once he got his bearings, his eyes fell upon the tiara, his hand still outstretched towards it but held in place by Fleur.

His hand quickly recoiled back to his side as he looked worriedly at the object in front of him.

"We need to tell Dumbledore about this."

"What do you mean 'Arry?"

His gaze finally left the crown and settled on his girlfriend, his eyes allowing even more insight into the turmoil within him.

"I think we found another Horcrux."

-HP-

Fleur and Harry walked back from the Headmaster's office in silence, their heads trying to wrap around everything that was juts revealed to them in there.

Harry turned out to be right. The tiara, or diadem as Dumbledore called it, was not only a Horcrux, but also the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. After providing the description of it to the house elf that Dumbledore summoned, the elf popped away and returned promptly with the object in question. The elf had a grimace on its face when it returned, whether it was because the diadem was causing it physical harm or because it could somehow sense the evil within they never found out. Once it handed the relic over, it popped back to kitchens before it could be questioned.

After assuring them that there was nothing they could do to save Ravenclaw's artifact and that Harry would not be needed in order to get rid of this one, the pair began to head back to Gryffindor Tower.

As they passed through one of the corridors on the ground floor, Harry stopped for a second and looked towards the sky. The full moon was still a day or two off, but Harry was already beginning to feel the pull of it.

The mere sight of it was somehow both agitating and soothing at the same time. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to right himself internally, he kept himself grounded until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You can feel it already can't you?" Fleur's unwavering gaze touched him deeply. Even though she didn't quite understand his hatred of his nonhuman side, she at least understood that the promise of the next moon hung heavily on his mind each month. She tried to reassure him by giving him a quick kiss, before they continued on their way.

A few corridors later, the pair heard voices coming from up in front of them, and panicked when they realized that they were technically out after curfew and they had neglected to bring Harry's cloak. Thinking quickly, Harry pulled Fleur into a nearby broom closet and decided that they should wait until whoever it was passed by. The force of their quick movement causing them to lose their balance and their wands clattered into the darkness of the closet.

He pressed one of his ears to the door, listening for the sound of footsteps to eventually disappear. The sound got increasingly closer before they appeared to stop right in front of the door. Both he and Fleur held their breath as they waited for the person to either open the door or for them to continue on their way. Instead, Harry heard the sound of the latch on the outside being closed.

Panicking, Harry began to beat on the door in an attempt to open it but it was no use. He reached into his robes looking for his wand and quickly realized that they had dropped them. Before either he or Fleur began to search for their wands, they heard a voice outside the door.

' _Collorprtus!'_

' _Impervius!'_

"Malfoy! Let us out!"

"I don't think so Scar-head. People like you two should be locked away like the _**freaks**_ that you are." The sound of footsteps returned, this time they faded into the distance as the Slytherin simply walked away.

Fleur swore at their predicament before she began to fumble around for her wand. This proved much difficult than she had realized because she couldn't see where she was looking due to the lack of light in the closet and ended up searching the same area repeatedly by accident. She was about to let out an exaggerated huff of annoyance before she became aware of a few other sounds in the closet.

When she stopped moving, she realized that Harry was still banging on the door and was breathing heavily. He was also muttering something among the lines of, " _I'm not a freak. Please let me out. I'll be good I swear._ "

"'Arry!" Fleur tried to reach him but Harry wasn't even there as he began to hyperventilate further. The rattling became more frantic as Harry began to pound on the door as if his life depended on it.

"'Arry, listen to me." She put her hand on his shoulder, on an attempt to comfort him as she did earlier. The second she made contact, Harry turned towards her, his fangs were on showcase as his eyes glowed brightly. Realizing that Harry no longer had control of himself, she began to scream as he began to approach her.

She frantically tried to keep him away from her, her distress so great, she didn't hear a voice uttering a spell from outside the door. The door flew open grabbing Harry's attention, before a flash of red light hit him in the face and he fell to the floor unconscious.

Hermione and Ron were standing at the door, the former's wand raised and trained on her unconscious boyfriend. Once they were sure that Harry was unconscious, they quickly moved them both out of the closet before reviving Harry.

"What happened?" the last thing he remembered was hearing someone down the corridor and ducking into a broom closet. After that he remembered nothing.

"Malfoy locked us into a closet. You started to freak out and then you turn."

Harr eyes widened as he realized how close he had come to seriously hurting his girlfriend. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she cut him off before he could begin speaking.

"No Harry it wasn't your fault. Malfoy's the one who locked us in there." She didn't understand why he reacted the way he did. "What happened Harry?"

He looked down in shame. Once they explained what happened, he knew why he reacted the way he did. He hadn't told many people the true extent of his treatment at the Dursley's, let alone that they locked him in a cupboard under the stairs for much of his life. The experience has left him with a fear of small spaces and it appears that Malfoy had used that against him, whether he was aware of it had yet to be scene.

"Nothing. It's all in the past."

"You two could've seriously gotten hurt in there." Hermione was genuinely worried for her best friend. She suspected that what he had told her about his early life wasn't the complete story but she had little reason to believe that it had affected him this much.

"I know. Things are getting more serious around here. The way things are going someone's going to get hurt," his apologetic expression turned into a hardened one, "We start practices next week."

 _ **AN: Hey I'm back. Sorry for the delay, school really bogged down with the end of semester work so I haven't been able to write as much as I wanted. I'm trying to get another chapter of this finished quickly as well as the next chapter for "Life's Detour."**_

 _ **I admit, this chapter was a little bit of a filler chapter in an attempt to move the story forward. For this reason I decided to add both the bit with finding the diadem and the closet section to this chapter. The whole thing in the closet was inspired by a scene in season 3 of MTV's "Teen Wolf" where two characters were locked in a closet together and one of them began to shift uncontrollably.**_

 _ **Also, yes, the name of this chapter is a reference to a line from 'Deathly Hallows Part 2'.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	31. Homefront

Chapter 31 – Homefront

He glanced at the entrance to the Room of Requirement as he paced back and forth in front of the entrance for what seemed like the hundredth time. Even though around 2 dozen students had signed up to be a part of this defense club thing, he was still skeptical that they would all show up. Prior experience had shown him that people usually have a habit of letting you down.

Despite his reservations, people began to show up around 10 minutes before the agreed meeting time, earning him a warm smile from Fleur, Ron, and Hermione who had all opted to let him handle things for the first lesson. When it appeared that everyone had shown up, Harry made his way to the center of the room.

"Thank you for being here everyone. So… as we discussed last week, these meetings will be used as a review for many on how to properly cast various spells and charms to review for exams," he paused here his eyes slowly scanning the crowd to gauge everyone's reactions. For the most part, everyone seemed on board with this. "The other part of it, will be to teach things for practical purposes, spells and skills that can be used out in the real world."

"Today we're going to be focusing on the disarming spell. This spell should be your bread and butter. Being good at it will get you out of many situations as well- "

"Why are we learning this? This is a 2nd Year spell; I thought you were going to teach us stuff that will _actually_ help us."

Harry nearly didn't bite back the growl that emanated from the back of his throat. He whirled around and met the gaze of a very cocky-looking Michael Corner.

"It's the spell that I used when I fought Voldemort last year." He let the silence hang over the crowd after this statement, almost everyone looked as though any objections that they may have had were let go by this piece of information.

Unfortunately, Corner was not one of them.

"Then it all must've been luck then. There's no way that that is all it took for you to beat You-Know-Who."

If looks could kill, Corner would be dead three times over if the glares coming from Harry's girlfriend and his 2 best friends were anything to go by. Harry however, had a plan for how to get past this.

"Okay Michael. If it's that easy then, I want you to disarm me. If you can do that, then I'm apparently not fit to teach any of you." Feeling the tension rise in the room, the crowd split down the middle, allowing for ample space for the two wizards to move. Not taking notice to the expectant looks on everyone's faces, Corner looked like he had hit the jackpot.

"If this is all it takes to beat dark wizards, maybe I should be the one to lead this group." The smirk as he lazily drew his wand out, looking about the other students to make sure that they would see him best the Boy-Who-Lived.

" _Expelliarmus!"_

Corner's spell shot out in the direction of Harry, but instead of divesting Harry of his wand, simply scattered a pile of books as Harry stood there unflinchingly.

"How about one more go?"

Corner's eyes tightened at the challenge. Letting his emotions get the better of him, he decided that he show this mediocre Gryffindor who the better wizard was.

" _Stupefy!"_

Many of the other student's eyes widened at the underhanded tactic and many watched in horror as this time, the spell's aim was true, heading directly towards Harry. Despite this, Harry stepped out of the way at the last second before leveling his own wand Corner.

" _Expelliarmus!"_

His opponent's wand rocketed into the air towards Harry where he caught it due to his enhanced reflexes. Michael Corner was now visibly shaking from his own frustration.

"You cheated!"

Harry instead ignored him and addressed the other students.

"As you can see, dueling is more than just throwing spells at another person until they can't fight anymore. You can't just know a spell and how to cast it. You have to know how to use it properly and how to use your own body along with it."

Harry paused to throw Corner back his wand, before making his way back to his position at the front of the group.

"Today, I want everyone to pair up and practice disarming one another. Once both of you are comfortable. I want you to move around with each other and practice that way." The group then dispersed into smaller pairs, with Fleur waiting for him over in the corner to work with her. Before he could make his way over to her, he was caught off by an irate Michael.

"What you did was cheating. In an honorable duel one must-"

"I don't know if you noticed Corner," Harry hissed out through his teeth, "but Death Eater don't give a damn about honor." He'd had enough of the git for one day and his frustrations were causing his eyes to glow slightly. "What honor is there when a group of Death Eaters kill a muggle family who can't use magic. What honor is there in killing a mother and father who are both unarmed before attempting to kill their infant son."

Michael had the decency to look ashamed by the last statement, before heading back over to his awaiting partner, having been thoroughly put in his place. Harry assumed that deep down, Corner knew that Harry was right, it was just hard for some people to accept the reality of the Wizarding world's current situation.

Nevertheless, Harry was still worked up, having to close his eyes and attempt to steady his breathing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned toward the questioning gaze of his girlfriend. He simply gave her a reassuring smile, before joining her to help her with practice before helping the other members.

-HP-

 _ **Werewolves Continue Their Reign of Terror**_

 _A wizarding family was found dead in their Sussex home Monday morning from an apparent werewolf attack._

 _This the third of such attacks since September of this year. When asked about the increase in werewolf attacks, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge responded by saying, "Actions need to be taken. If the magical community continues to be threatened by dark creatures, myself and the other members of the Wizengamot will be forced to take legal action against those responsible."_

 _When questioned on whether such plans would include a werewolf registration, Fudge elected to not comment because no plans have been drawn yet._

Harry put his copy of the Daily Prophet down, unwilling to read any further. Glancing around the Great Hall, he noticed that outside of his friends who were looking at him sympathetically, most of the hall was either glancing cautiously at him or ignoring him all together. He noticed that Fleur looked to ready to shout indignantly at the unfair treatment of Britain's magical government, while Hermione kept on reading the rest of the article.

"According to the article, Fudge claims that your status of being a werewolf has nothing to do with the drastic actions they plan on taking." She slammed the paper shut onto the table and looked to Harry, a fire burning behind her eyes. "That's rubbish, him and the Prophet's been going out of their way to discredit you and Dumbledore, and he has the gall to claim that you won't be treated differently. Even these articles are designed to sway public opinion against you."

"What do you mean Hermione?" Harry hadn't bothered to read most of these articles since the Prophet had begun slandering him and wasn't quite sure what they were up to.

"On top of the stories about you being a dangerous dark creature before your trial and calling you delusional, they've manage to mention you by name in every story that's about werewolf attacks, like they're trying to remind people that that's what you are."

"But I'm nothing like those animals," said a visibly shaking Harry. Soft growls started to mix with his deeper breaths as he dug his growing claws into his palms in an attempt to control himself.

"No one here is claiming you are Harry," began Hermione soothingly. Around them, all his friends tried to express their sincerity to him, which helped tremendously to calm him down. "By associating your name with stories of werewolf attacks, they're trying to convince people that you're dangerous."

Fleur placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder and began rubbing it soothingly. "It will all work out "Arry. You shouldn't be ashamed of what you are because of zese monsters."

Harry didn't seem completely convinced of her words, but tried to stay upbeat for the sake of his friends. He leaned in and claimed a quick kiss from his girlfriend before excusing himself for another lesson with the Headmaster.

-HP-

Fleur waited patiently for Harry to return from his weekly lesson with Dumbledore. Staying up in the common room until it was nearly midnight had become a regular part of her schedule. Every time, her and Harry would cuddle in front of the fireplace, while Harry told her of what he'd learned that night.

At the start of term, Dumbledore's lessons mostly consisted of magical theory and teaching Harry various spells and strategies that would help ensure his survival. He would also have Harry practice several exercises designed by both himself and Remus to help keep Harry's inner wolf in check.

The discovery of Voldemort's second Horcrux however incited changes to Dumbledore's usual curriculum. While the exercises and spell work were still present, much of their time together was spent trying to decipher the mystery behind the pieces of the Dark Lord's soul. Her mind flashed back to the lesson from the previous week.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Harry arrived back to the common room around 11:30, a disturbed and wild look in his eyes. He silently made to sit next to Fleur, never once taking notice of her as he stared unseeingly into the flames in the fireplace, causing Fleur to become concerned._

"' _Arry?"_

 _This seemed enough to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, causing him to jump as if he was being attacked by something before realizing that it was his girlfriend._

" _Oh, Fleur! I didn't see you there," he said sullenly as his mind drifted back to wherever it had previously been._

" _What happened? I zought you were 'aving a lesson wiz Dumbledore."_

 _Harry looked at her and for the briefest of moments, it appeared as though he was going to try and deflect her inquiry, before remembering his promise just weeks earlier. As he readied himself to speak, the haunted look returned to his eyes._

" _Well," he began hesitantly, rubbing his neck absent-mindedly as he searched for the right words, "You know that Dumbledore's been showing me memories to learn about Voldemort and his Horcruxes?" At her nod he continued, "Today we were trying to learn all we could about how he's protecting them so… Dumbledore showed me Kreacher's memory about how he came across the locket."_

 _Fleur tried to cover the gasp that escaped her throat but was unable to prevent the involuntary sound. Realizing that she needed to be strong for Harry, she guided his head down to her lap so she could soothingly massage his head as he recounted Kreacher's experience with the inferi and the death of Sirius' brother Regulus._

" _After witnessing what Kreacher had to go through to get the locket, I don't think I'm strong enough to do it." He cast his eyes downward in shame at his cowardice. It pained him to admit such anybody, even his own girlfriend. The only other person he had ever trusted his insecurities with was Hermione, yet she wasn't here right now, Fleur was._

"' _Arry, look at me," she placed her hands on either side of his head and forced him to look her in the eyes, "You are one of ze bravest men I know, and if anyone is going to be able to stop him, it will be you."_

 _Harry found himself unable to break the connection that they were currently sharing, but his self-doubt still plagued his mind. Sensing it, she did the only thing she thought would ease his troubled mind, and lowered her lips to his._

 _The kiss itself was a slow, and tentative unlike most of the other kisses that the couple had shared. Just as quickly as it had started Fleur pulled back, a small smile on her face to reassure Harry. His eyes remained closed for a few moments longer, his brows furrowed for a second as if he was puzzled, before opening them to look at her._

 _He sat up and turned his body towards his girlfriend, a new look of determination on his face as one of his hands made its way to the back of her head to pull her in for another kiss._

 _Though this one had begun slow like the previous kiss, it quickly was overshadowed by a newfound ferocity and intensity. Pulling Fleur up onto his lap, the space between them soon vanished, as their lips parted and tongues met each other in a duel of passion. As her fingers burrowed into the black tresses of his hair, Fleur's senses were overwhelmed by a forest-like smell and the taste of treacle tart. She could feel the beginnings of claws digging into the back of her shirt, not enough to damage it but enough to cause her spine to tingle, causing her skin to vibrate as their lips glided against one another's._

 _She moaned when Harry briefly lifted her up to lay her down on the couch before trailing his lips down her chin and onto her neck. His hands left her hips, traveling briefly up her sides to the top of her uniform, grasping it at the collar and yanking it open causing the top most buttons to go flying off._

 _Fleur gasped pleasantly when his lips found her recently liberated collar bone, feeling her body heat up as Harry lavished her neckline with a growl and grinded their pelvises together. Losing herself in the moment, she attempted to roll them over so that she could take control, momentarily forgetting that they were on a couch in the common room, and accidently rolled them off the couch and onto the floor with a sizable thunk._

 _This was enough to dispel the passion of the moment, as the two teens quickly stood back up and righted their clothing, while blushing madly. While she was repairing her shirt, she noticed Harry's eyes dimming, having apparently been glowing due to their activity._

" _It's a good zing we didn't get carried away," said Fleur, trying to cut the awkwardness out of the atmosphere. If anything, it had only made it worse. Harry simply nodded his head, before giving Fleur a chaste kiss goodnight before the pair wet up to their dormitories._

 _ **Flashback End**_

The more Fleur thought about that night, the more trouble she had deciphering the jumbled mess of emotions attached to it. _Was Harry simply using her in that moment? Was she Using him? And why was everything so awkward afterwards?_

The answer to these Fleur didn't know. She would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't enjoy their brief moment of passion, but everything surrounding it left her confused. She wasn't sure if Harry had lost control during the kiss, but was also slightly worrying was that she wasn't sure if she lost control either. The incident had caused some awkwardness in their relationship that they had yet to really get past.

The sound of the portrait hole opening broke her from her thoughts as Harry entered the room, gave her a quick peck on the lips, and sat down next to her.

"What was it tonight?"

"We actually didn't view many memories. In fact, Dumbledore only showed me one from an old potions professor who taught Tom Riddle when he was in school."

"Why wouldc'e show you zis?"

"It looked like Voldemort got the idea for his Horcruxes from this man, yet the memory has been tampered with. Dumbledore is convinced that the original memory is essential to figuring out if Voldemort made any more Horcruxes."

"How are you supposed to get ze original memory?"

"He didn't say, only that it would mostly likely be over the holidays and that he wanted my help in retrieving it."

The pair continued to converse for several more minutes, Fleur scooting closer to Harry and snuggling into his side. She tried to push the issue and get Harry to recreate the last time they had met like this, but Harry seemed reluctant to do it.

"What's ze matter "Arry? You seem distant."

"It's nothing Fleur." The smile he tried to give didn't quite reach his eyes so Fleur decided to go for another tactic. She began laying kisses underneath his chin, causing Harry's breath to hitch for a moment as he lost himself as the sensation. When she made it up to his each and brought her teeth down on it lightly, Harry's eyes snapped opened and he jumped away.

"I'm not really up to that right now Fleur." Fleur's frustration began to boil as she jumped to her feet after him.

"Why do you keep rejecting your nature "Arry? It is a part of you."

"I'm still learning control Fleur. I don't want to hurt you if I lose control over myself. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to you."

"I'm not afraid "Arry. I know what it's like - "

"Can we please just drop it?" Harry's own frustration was evident by the slight growl in his voice causing Fleur to back away, in what Harry perceived to be fear. Feeling slightly ashamed of himself, he avoided her eyes and looked at the ground around her feet. "Look, can we just talk about this another time." He briefly looked at her pleadingly, before turning and heading up the stairs to go to bed, an exasperated Fleur deciding to do the same a few moments later.

 _ **AN: I know it's been a little while since my last update. With finals happening, it was hard to find the time to continue writing. I haven't been complete idle though, I have the outline for the rest of fifth year mapped out, so writing should be a bit easier and possibly faster coming up.**_

 _ **I'm expecting some people will have issues with how I'm portraying Harry and Fleur's relationship. I want them to be realistic and not be a perfect couple. Couples do ague and have disagreements over stupid things. Fleur is the key to Harry's acceptance of his other side, while Hermione is his reminder that he more than just a werewolf.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be a bit in the future, taking place right before and during the beginning of the Christmas holiday.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	32. Rise of the Lycans

Chapter 32 – Rise of the Lycans

Harry was uncharacteristically happy as the train ride back to King's Cross Station was coming to an end. He was feeling better now than he had during any of his previous Christmas holidays. Not only was this the first year where something potentially life threatening wasn't happening, despite Umbridge's continued attempts to ruin it, this was also his first Christmas that he was going to spend away from Hogwarts, having been invited to spend it at the Burrow with the Weasley's and at Grimmauld Place with Sirius.

Dumbledore had told Harry during their last meeting that he would arrive at the Burrow and so that he could be taken to Grimmauld Place to spend that night's full moon before spending Christmas with Sirius. The plan was then formed for Harry to go with the Weasley's to the Burrow so that the Ministry wouldn't think to question his whereabouts before leaving to head to Grimmauld Place.

Harry had told his friends the following day during the dinner at the Great Hall. Due to the large number of people in the Great Hall, it made it nearly impossible for Harry to focus his senses of smell and hearing, and unbeknownst to him, Malfoy had heard about their plans, an evil grin spreading across his face.

He hoped to be able to travel to the Burrow frequently during his stay, a consolation prize considering that he was unable to spend it with his girlfriend. Both Harry and Fleur were disappointed that they weren't going to be able to see each other over Christmas. While they were at school, it had been determined that it was safe enough for Fleur's family to return to France, albeit at a safe house at an undisclosed location. Due to the secrecy needed to keep the Delacours safe, frequent travel to and from the place was deemed too risky. On top of that, Fleur wanted to spend time with her family and Dumbledore's wish that Harry remain in Britain, the pair would have to wait until next term to see each other.

He turned his attention to Hermione, who was busy explaining to Fleur about her family's ski trip that they had planned while they were on break. At first, he was surprised that Hermione wasn't spending Christmas either at the Burrow with them, but when she lamented that it had been some time since she had spent Christmas with her parents, he completely understood. The last time that she hadn't spent Christmas at Hogwarts was their first year, so he couldn't fault her for wanting to be with her family as well.

Once at King's Cross, they were met by the familiar sight of on Order escort consisting of Tonks, Remus, Moody, and Bill. They quickly ushered all the teens off the train and towards a fireplace kept off to the side of the platform for families that either preferred Floo over apparition, or groups that were too large to apparate safely. Hermione gave both Harry and Ron a quick hug goodbye, though she also gave Ron a kiss on the cheek, causing the pair of them to look extremely awkward afterwards, before going through the barrier to meet up with her parents. Harry and Fleur also gave their goodbyes, kissing briefly, before she was escorted by Hestia Jones to the Ministry so she could take an international portkey to where her family was staying.

Harry watched as his girlfriend apparated away before turning and joining the others by the fireplace. They entered the green flames one at a time, each student going through first followed by an Order member, until it was just Tonks and Harry left. Before she went through, Tonks gave Harry a look that he recognized a few times from the likes of the twins and Sirius.

"I bet your upset that your girlfriend won't be around for the holidays aren't ya? I bet you were hoping to give her a big present," she said waggling her eye brows suggestively, causing Harry to turn beet red. She let out a hearty laugh, and as Harry stepped into the mantel, managed to sputter out, "The Burrow", and vanished into the flames, Tonks amusement still ringing in his ears.

Stepping out of the hearth, he was quickly accosted by Mrs. Weasley, who enveloped him in a hug that gaze Hermione's a run for her money.

"Harry dear, it's good to see you. I hope that Hogwarts has treated you well."

"It was Fine Mrs. Weasley."

"Good. Now since you'll be leaving shortly, I suggest that you eat a good supper before Moody decides it's time to leave."

He simply gave her a smile before heading to the kitchen where the rest of the Weasley's were about to sit down for dinner. He made to sit down next to Ron, only to find that the spot was occupied by Bill, leaving only one seat left for him to sit. And it happened to be right next to Ginny.

By the widening of her eyes, she noticed it too. She tried to unnoticeably glance around the room for anywhere else to sit but it was no use, they were stuck where they were. Harry only just managed to bite back the groan that threatened to escape his throat. Ginny still acted weird around him, even though he had tried his best multiple times to give her the impression that he was still the same Harry she'd known for a long time.

Once he sat down, he noticed that she was slowly inching herself away from him as far as her seat would allow her. Despite his frustration over her behavior, he couldn't help but feel sad that the person that he viewed as a sister would have such a terrible reaction to him, and to try and placate her, moved himself away from her as well in hopes of providing reassurance.

To most of the occupants of the Burrow, there was no tension at the dining room table. Everyone chatted merrily about the school year and work, despite all the children picking up on the tension that was between Harry and Ginny.

It was when Ginny abruptly got up after finishing her meal and excused herself from the table that Harry decided that he would have to have a conversation with Ginny later on that night.

-HP-

Getting Ginny to talk was much easier said than done. It wasn't until several hours later than he managed to approach her on the stairwell.

"Hey Ginny."

Ginny whipped her head to look at him, her expression initially one of shock before she tried to give a smile that she hoped was convincing, but Harry knew better.

"Oh, hello Harry. Look, it's getting late so I'm just- "

"Look Ginny," the sternness in his voice stopped her response in its tracks, along with his gaze which blazed with determination, "I know you've been avoiding me all year and I want to know why."

She was at a loss for words. It wasn't that she didn't think Harry wouldn't notice, she knew that she wasn't the subtlest person, but the fact that Harry was actually forcing the confrontation was what caught her off guard. Past experience would make one believe that Harry wasn't one to confront people in this kind of situation head-on, nor did she think that he valued their relationship enough to have this discussion either.

"I haven't- "but again Harry cut her off.

"Is it because you're afraid of me?"

Ginny's expression showcased the maelstrom of emotions that ran through her at the question. Her mouth opened and closed as she attempted to come up with a response.

"Ginny, please. I need to know. Enough people look at me as a monster. All I want is to know how to fix this?"

The hurt in his eyes was what made her change her mind. The hurt the was showcased behind his eyes made her feel guilty for how she had been treating him. She was afraid but not of him, of what he could do. Her mind then drifted to the events of her first year, which only made her feel worse as she remembered how Harry didn't look at her with either pity or fear due to her role in the vents of that year. If he could do that for her, why hasn't she done that for him?

"I…I was afraid. I know it makes me a hypocrite because I'm not afraid of Lupin but he can't attack at a moment's notice. I know you have no control over that, but I couldn't stop it from being there," she made direct eye contact with him for the first time during this whole conversation, hoping that she was conveying her message of sincerity and regret as clear as she hoped she was. "I hope you can forgive me, especially since you didn't treat me different after Riddle- "she was again interrupted, this time when Harry engulfed her in a hug which she graciously returned, yet she still couldn't help the slight hesitation, but she was still trying to get over her fear.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for Ginny."

He looked ready to say more before a bone-chilling sound ripped through the night air.

The howl of a werewolf.

-HP-

Harry quickly ran as fast as he could down the stairs of the Burrow, bursting through the back door and out into the garden. Instinctively he looked up and saw that the full moon was in the sky. Instinctively, he tried to push aside the familiar tightening sensation of his skin, as he looked out into the fields around the Burrow.

In front of him stood two individuals who were looking directly at him. The first he recognized as Greyback, while the other one was wearing Death Eater Garbs. The stranger lifted his hands to his mask, and removed it revealing the face of Viktor Krum. Seeing Cedric's murderer standing right in front of him sent Harry into a rage as he bolted forward, the only thought on his mind to tear the bastard limb from limb.

Once he crossed the Burrow's boundary lines and entered the surrounding fields, both Krum and Greyback ran deeper into the marshes, leading Harry farther away from the Burrow. The thick reeds kept Harry from being able to see them clearly until he entered a small clearing with no indication of where the pair had gone.

A bolt of red light flew past his head, missing Harry by inches. He turned to see Krum standing there looking triumphantly at Harry. Harry quickly pulled out his wand and the two began to aggressively send spell back and forth. Though Viktor knew more spells and was the more experienced duelist, Harry's quicker reflexes made it difficult for Krum to end the duel as quickly as he had hoped, but one of Krum's hexes grazed Harry's arm, enraging him further

With a quickness that surprised them both, Harry leapt the distance between them and pinned Viktor to the ground, his hand raising in the air to slash the bastard's throat as he was about to lose control of himself. He reared his claws back to end him, but Viktor began laughing which gave him monetary pause.

"You are predictable Harry Potter," he said as he continued to laugh.

"What are you going on about?" The laugh was starting to get on his nerves.

"The Dark Lord wants to kill you himself. Why would I rob my master of his glory?"

Harry tried to wrap his head around Viktor's words. If Krum wasn't here to kill him, then he was just a distraction. But, a distraction from what?

From the direction of the Burrow, Harry saw a few bright flashes of lights and the telltale growling of werewolves, when realization dawned on him. Viktor was luring him away from the Burrow, so that the Weasley's could be attacked.

Taking his chance, Krum send a point-blank stunner at Harry, knocking him back a few feet. Once he was back to his feet, he apparated away, but Harry could care less. As soon as he righted himself, he took off back in the direction of the Burrow but was stopped by a ring of cursed fire surrounding the home.

On the other side, he saw that the Burrow was up in flames as the Weasley's along with Tonks, Moody, and other members of the Order who were keeping guard were engaging nearly a half a dozen transformed werewolves. Thankfully, the Weasley's could find several positions to hold up, and from what he could tell, they nor the Order had yet to suffer any casualties, and had managed to avoid getting attacked by any of them.

A scream caught Harry's attention as Greyback, who was somehow able to retain his human form, was closing in on Ginny, who had lost her wand at some point during the fight, while Bill was trying to fend off another one. Harry leapt through the cursed flames, no longer concerned for his one well-being, and ran towards the frightened Ginny.

Using all his momentum, he knocked Greyback back several feet and let out a fierce roar, receiving one in return once Greyback had recovered. Seeing that Harry had managed to return, he quickly dispelled the flame barrier and apparated away along with several of the other werewolves. Harry nearly relaxed, thinking they had one, before another scream rang out, this one was in pain.

By the time he found the source of them scream, he found Bill pinned to the ground bleeding as the werewolf he had been fighting was poised to end his life. Harry began to see red as he took off towards the pair and violently knocked the werewolf off Bill, knocking him out.

Harry and the rest of the Weasley's gathered around Bill, but it didn't look good. Bill was losing blood very quickly, the ground around his body being replaced by a pool of red.

"Someone heal him!" cried a hysterical Mrs. Weasley, who was visibly shaking from the night's events.

"Molly. He's been attacked by a werewolf. There's nothing- "

She tried to protest but stopped when Bill reached out with one of his bloody hands and grabbed hers.

"It's okay mum."

"No, no, no, no!" she cried as everyone watched in horror as Bill's hands went limp, the last of his life having been drained from him. Arthur quickly wrapped his wife up in her arms and tried consoling her, despite the tears that were spilling from his eyes. Ginny and Ron came over to Harry and the three embraced, their tears mingling as they grieved for the fallen Weasley. That was until a they heard a laugh come from behind them.

Turning around, they saw that the werewolf who had attacked Bill had reverted to his human form, but it was obvious that he was in a bad way, blood coming from his mouth due to the injuries he sustained from Harry's attack.

"Looks like the runt wasn't strong enough. It takes a truly weak wizard to die from the bite," he sneered before erupting into another fit of pained laughing.

The horrors of that night had become too much for Harry. Seeing Bill lying on the ground had somehow managed to help him keep complete control over himself, but it was quickly evaporating from the werewolf's comments.

"I wonder if it's because he comes from such a weak family. A family of filthy Blood Traitors."

Before anyone could stop him, Harry snapped. He quickly strode over to the injured wolf and straddled him as his claws began to grow from his fingers. Wanting nothing more than to end the life of the piece of filth beneath him, Harry began slashing and clawing violently at the man. He swiped away for several moments, somehow feeling very good about what he was doing. He wanted the man, no the monster beneath him dead, and was close to killing him before screaming and yelling behind him caused him to stop.

"Harry, No!"

Pausing, he turned his feral eyes towards the source of the voice, meeting Ginny's eyes as she tried to reach his human side.

"You told me that you weren't a monster Harry. Now I need you to prove it."

Realization of what he had almost done was like a bucket of cold water was dumped over Harry. He looked back at the figure beneath him, unconscious yet still alive due to his werewolf physiology, Harry felt sick to his stomach. He had told Ginny that he wasn't a monster, but with what just happened, he realized that he was no better than the man beneath him.

He quickly got up and was walking back towards the field. He didn't know what he was going to do but all he knew was that he needed to get away. He had only managed to take a few steps before he felt the familiar sensations of his transformation begin to take hold. Seeing this, Moody quickly stepped forward, announced that he needed to get Harry to Grimmauld Place, before leaving the Weasley's behind to grieve for their dead son.

 _ **AN: So, there it is. This was one of the chapters that I had envisioned for the story from the very beginning. I wanted something to happen over the Christmas holiday but I wanted it to be different from the Arthur attack from canon. Originally, I did have Arthur dying, but I realized that I wasn't really using Bill and I like Arthur, which led to the decision to kill off Bill. I also wanted an excuse to bring both Viktor and Greyback back into the picture and I hope that they can return much quicker next time around. Hopefully this chapter is good enough, in you guys' eyes.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be dealing with the fallout of the event. I hope to further resolve some of the issues touched upon in this chapter in the coming ones, such as Harry and Ginny's relationship and what this attack actually means.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	33. Fate & Circumstance

Chapter 33 – Fate & Circumstance

When the front opened, and allowed her entrance to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Hermione was surprised that the atmosphere of the old house was even more oppressive than she remembered. The air seemed so thick, that it would require multiple cutting spells in order to penetrate it. The Black Family's ancestral home wasn't one that she had come to associate with liveliness during her previous stay, but she had to admit that the absolute silence that stretched on in front of her was deeply unsettling.

Hermione felt bad about leaving her family on another Christmas holiday, and she had hoped that this vacation would help start to repair their estranged relationship. All those hopes were lost after she had read about the attack at the Burrow in _The Daily Prophet_. She quickly told her parents that she needed to see if her friends were okay, instead of showing sympathy or even attempting to convince her to stay as she had expected, her parents begrudgingly let her go with little resistance, the contempt for her world apparent in their eyes. She no longer wished to fight with them, so instead of facing the confrontation that they would inevitably have, she called the Knight Bus and left for Grimmauld Place.

Entering the kitchen, she was met by the somber Weasley family, each member was eerily still, so unlike the usual energy that the family gave off. Mr. Weasley wasn't talking about some new muggle item he had come across, Ron and Ginny weren't harking on about Quidditch, Fred and George weren't joking around, and Charlie was off in a corner by himself. Most startling off all was Mrs. Weasley who wasn't bustling about the kitchen or corralling her family, instead she was sat at the kitchen table so still that she could've been mistaken for a statue. Finally, her eyes landed on the last two occupants of the kitchen, Fleur and Sirius. Sirius had yet to notice her, he too was gazing at the grieving family, whereas Fleur quickly noticed Hermione and quickly wrapped her friend up in a warm embrace.

Once his eyes focused on her, Sirius attempted to give her a smile, yet it was obvious that it was a forced one. The Weasley's had also noticed her, and Hermione's heart nearly gave out from the universal look of loss and despair that flickered behind the family's eyes. Hermione made her rounds to all the family, offering he condolences, getting extra-long hugs from both Ron and Mrs. Weasley who had made sure that Hermione knew how grateful her family was for her support.

When Hermione made her way over to Sirius, he could already see the question in her eyes, and nodded his head towards the stairs. Hermione knew that he would be tearing himself up over what happened, but she hadn't anticipated him to cut himself off completely.

"He's closed himself upstairs with Buckbeak. He hasn't come out, even for meals. The only times I've seen him is when is to use the loo and when I take his meals upstairs."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding and headed towards the stairs to try and get through to Harry. As she exited the kitchen, she heard two chairs being pushed in, followed by three sets of footsteps, meaning that Fleur, Ron, and Ginny were right behind her. Once they made it up to the top floor Hermione continued to the door, while her companions had remained behind.

"It's no use Hermione, he's not coming out."

Hermione continued as if they didn't hear them. Rasping her knuckles on the door, she tried her hand at trying to reach her best friend.

"Harry?" No response came. She listened carefully to hear if there was any movement inside the room, but found none. "Harry!" This time she was sure that she heard something on the other side of that door that wasn't Buckbeak. "Harry, open the door!"

"Hermione? What are you doing here?"

She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. The sound of a few sighs of relief behind her let her know that she was the first to make this much progress with Harry.

"I heard about what happened Harry, I wanted to see if you were alright."

"But what about your parents?"

She was a little taken aback by his statement. Leave it to Harry to be worried about her relationship with her parents, when he was clearly going through some tough time.

"It doesn't matter Harry. Please come out, everyone's worried sick about you."

It was several long moments before the door opened revealing a very weary looking Harry. By the looks of him, he hadn't been sleeping well and despite Sirius bringing him his meals, he looked as if he hadn't eaten in a few days, even if it was only one. With further coaxing, Harry made his way down to the kitchen to see the rest of the Weasley's.

"Mrs. Weasley? About Bill- "

"You've nothing to worry about dear."

"But if I was faster- "

Instead of responding verbally, she engulfed Harry in a hug that wasn't her usual bone-crushing one, but much more gentle and reassuring.

"It wasn't your fault Harry. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"They were there because of me," Harry stepped out of her embrace and tried to put some distance between him and the family he felt he had unintentionally hurt, "If I wasn't there, the werewolves wouldn't have attacked and the Burrow wouldn't be destroyed. How can you claim that it wasn't my fault?"

Hermione stepped closer to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You didn't make them attack the Burrow. You weren't the one who killed Bill. They're the monsters not you."

"But I nearly did," Harry jumped up so quickly that he startled his companions as he headed towards the room's window. "I nearly killed a man Hermione, and what's worse…I enjoyed what I did to him, the feeling of my claws ripping into him, all of it."

This time it was Mrs. Weasley who came to comfort him. "But you didn't Harry, and that's what makes you different from them." Before he had the opportunity to try and argue with her, she wrapped him up in another hug, and tried to put Harry's troubled conscience at ease.

The relief was clear on his face as he returned Mrs. Weasley's embrace, both finding comfort in each other. He did the same to the rest of the family, before moving on to Sirius and receiving a hug from him as well.

"Whether or not you feel that the attack was because of you, you still did the right thing and did all you could to try and save the only real family you've ever had," Harry noticed the sadness in Sirius' eyes following that statement, "and for that, you have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"But- "

"No buts, and besides, it seems that Fenrir Greyback and his pack have been planning on making their move sooner or later."

"What do you mean?"

Sirius' expression hardened as he motioned for Harry to sit down at the table, before joining hi there.

"Remember when Remus and I told you that the werewolves were planning something." After receiving a nod from his godson, the old Marauder continued. "Since the end of summer, there has been an increase in werewolf activity. You wouldn't know it because there is little said about it in the _Daily Prophet_ , but the number of werewolf bite victims has been going up, yet these attacks have been stealthily and at random intervals to hide the fact that they're connected."

He paused as he seemed to be weighing his words carefully.

"It seems that he has chosen now to come out into the open. The same night that the Burrow was attacked, there were an additional half a dozen attacks across Britain, each targeting Pureblood families and leaving many of the victims bitten."

"So, that's why they attacked the Burrow, to try and create more werewolves?"

"That's not entirely true Hermione. While, it may have been part of their goals, we believe that they may have had another one," Sirius' gaze once more fell on Harry, his expression one of regret and sorrow, "We believe that they may have been after you Harry."

There was a collective gasp around the room, and the sound of glass shattering as Hermione accidently dropped her glass. Sirius stopped to wave his wand and clean up the pieces of glass before continuing further.

"We feel that the Burrow was chosen as a target for one of two reasons. 1, to try and frame the attack on you, thus turning the wizarding public against you further, or 2, to kidnap you and either take you to Voldemort or force you to join his pack."

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He tried to rationalize all that Sirius said. What did Greyback want with him?

"Why would he want me in his pack?"

"I cannot say for sure. Most likely for political reasons." He received confused looks from around the room and decided to clarify his statement. "If the Boy-Who-Lived joined the pack of a notorious werewolf, even if his reputation is being slandered, then Greyback could use that as either a means to try and sway the public's opinion on werewolves, or use you as a beacon to convince other werewolves to join his pack, if they haven't already."

Harry was still a little confused about the whole thing but decided to drop the subject, it only served to deepened the guilt he felt. Despite the Weasley's continued assurance that the attack wasn't his fault, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was possibly another reason for the fight that night.

After that revelation, Harry, along with Hermione, Ron, and Fleur were sat in Harry's room, silence settling amongst them. Despite what his actions downstairs told everyone else, it was apparent to everyone in the room that Harry still blamed himself for Bill's death.

"You see mate," Ron began, trying to cut through the awkward tension that was in the room, "No one here blames you for what happened at the Burrow."

Instead of cheering him up, Harry still seemed trapped within himself as he turned his hands over repeatedly, the image of his claws covered in blood flashing through his mind. Fleur could see where his mind was and decided that she had had enough.

"You are not a monster 'arry. You could 'ave killed ze monster zat killed Bill, but you didn't, despite ze fact zat 'e deserved it."

Everyone remained silent as Harry seemed to either too engrossed in his self-reproach or chose not to pay any attention to Fleur's words.

"I can't believe zat you are doing zis again. 'Ow may times must I ask you to open up wiz me. I tell you zat you shouldn't be ashamed of what you are but you still refuse to accept yourself."

Harry was slowly starting to boil inside. His hands clenched tightly at his sides, yet Fleur seemed to have not noticed. Luckily, Hermione had.

She flashed back to similar arguments that she had once had with Harry, except for the opposite reason. She had once believed that Harry was too accepting of his status as a werewolf and had foolishly tried to admonish him for changing. How foolish she had once been. It had taken a while but she was finally beginning to somewhat understand what Harry was going through. She knew that she would never fully grasp his situation, but she had tried to see things from his perspective and saw that Harry was trying to make the best out of his current situation.

He had wanted nothing more than to be the same person that he was before the bite, and still did. but both he and Hermione knew that it was currently impossible for him to do that. Fleur didn't know what it was like to have these inhuman abilities forced upon you after a relatively normal existence, and because of it, it seemed that she was starting to push Harry a little too far.

"Fleur, I'm not sure this is the time for this."

"But why-"

"Because I wasn't always this way!" Harry pounded his fist into the wall in frustration, accidently leaving a small dent where his fist had made impact. "All I ever wanted in my life was to be normal, and now I will never have that," he turned his eyes to the other occupants of the room, the fires of rage burning lightly behind them.

"You've 'eard us say time and time again zat what 'appened at ze Burrow wasn't your fault."

"You wouldn't understand- "

"Zey came because zey wanted you in zere pack."

Harry was silent, but it was clear to everyone that he was close to exploding, except for Fleur who was equally as fired up. Through clenched teeth he managed to get, "There's more to it than that."

"You act as if you're ze one who told zem to attack. Why do you continue to blame yourself?"

"Because that's not the only reason they came!" He blurted out before he could stop himself, effectively silencing the argument in its tracks.

"What do you mean that it's not the only reason?"

Ron's question caused Harry's eyes to widen as he realized that he had accidently let out more than he had planned to. He had managed to keep this secret to himself since that fateful day after Voldemort came back. He had been afraid of telling his friends, partly due to the fear that they would abandon him once they knew the truth, but now the cat was out of the bag. With a sigh and a bow of his head, he headed towards the door, locked it, before heading back to his friends.

"There's a reason why Voldemort attacked my parents. It's out because he wanted them dead…he wanted me dead."

Three pairs of eye widened as several gasps escaped into the room, as the three people that were closest to Harry tried to decipher what he was trying to say.

"Before I was born, A prophecy was given to Dumbledore. One that told of a person who would be the one to defeat Voldemort and end his reign of terror," inhaling deeply, he recited the words that had haunted him since the end of the previous school year.

" _ **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."**_

Silence descended on the room as Ron, Hermione, and Fleur tried to wrap their heads around what they just heard. Hermione was the first to come to her senses.

"But Harry, Prophecies are a load of rubbish. I simply can't believe that this is true. You don't really believe this, do you?"

"It is real Hermione. Dumbledore says that there is a room in the Department of /mysteries where they house prophecies, and apparently this one is there. Besides, one of Voldemort's followers had heard the first part of the prophecy and told him. Since he believes it, he will keep coming after me until one of us is dead."

This time, the silence was a little heavier. Ron had a scared expression on his face, Hermione seemed to be close to tears, while Fleur's expression was difficult to decipher. Without warning, Hermione launched herself at Harry and wrapped him in a massive hug, that despite his depressing attitude, did make Harry feel better. Once she relinquished her death grip on him, Fleur moved to hug him as well, hers being a little softer.

"I'm sorry you 'ave to deal wiz zis 'Arry." She pulled back to look at him, though her gaze was till soft, he could see that a question was dancing behind her eyes. " 'Ow long 'ave you known?"

Harry groaned internally at the question. He knew that Fleur wasn't going to like the answer.

"Since after Cedric died."

Fleur pulled away quickly, almost as if she was burned.

"You've known all zis time and you didn't tell us?"

Harry at least had the decency to look shamed, his eyes being cast towards the floor.

"I couldn't. When Dumbledore told me, it took so long for me to wrap my own head around it and I just couldn't figure out how to tell you." It wasn't a complete lie, but he hoped that Fleur wouldn't see through it and learn the real truth behind why he didn't tell them. Unfortunately for him, he saw Fleur's eyes widen as she saw through his deception.

"You zought we would abadon you, didn't you?" Harry didn't answer but his silence was enough of an answer for her. "I can't believe you. I know zat I 'ave been around for as long as Ron or 'Ermione, but how could you think that I would leave you because of this. Do you 'ave so little faith in me, in us?"

She waved her hand towards Ron and Hermione but Harry still chose not to answer, only succeeding in making Fleur angrier. She stood up abruptly and began to head towards the door.

"I understand zat you zis is 'uge burden on you but you 'ad promised to be open wiz me, zat we were in zis togezzer," she paused as she took a calming breath, "I'm upset, but it doesn't make me any less sorry for what you 'ave to go through 'Arry." She turned back towards the door, unlocked it and took one step out into the hallway, before stopping to address the room again.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay 'ere. I need to get away and clear my 'ead. _Au Revoir,_ "Arry. Ron 'Ermione."

She then walked down the hallway and didn't come back. It was a few minutes later when the remaining trio heard the distant sound of the Floo Network lighting up, signaling that Fleur had indeed left, leaving behind a distraught Harry, who felt like he had messed up one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

 _ **AN: Yeesh. Two depressing ending in a row. This was the second of three chapters that I had planned from the beginning of writing this fic. It is my interpretation that in this situation, Harry would keep the prophecy to himself, and I also feel that each of the other character's reactions are true to their characters.**_

 _ **I fear that some people might think that Fleur overreacted a bit, and I think that those people are right. In the books, it took a lot for Fleur to overcome her sort of "snobbish" attitude and that even though she has made strides in this story, she still has a little way to go. I genuinely feel that she would have a hard time understanding why Harry keeps a lot to himself and I want to explore that in the coming installments. The next few chapters will be looking at Harry and Fleur's relationship and the fallout of this most recent fight.**_

 _ **As Always, thanks for reading!**_


	34. Strength of the Pack

Chapter 34 – Strength of the Wolf

Harry awoke with a start, the beginning of sweat beginning to form, awoken by yet another nightmare courtesy of Voldemort. It was moments like these, that reminded him that despite how seemingly useful their connection might be, it was still a terrible curse.

The first thought that reached through his internal fog was confusion, as he tried to take in his surroundings after his eyes shot open. It only took a few seconds for him to realize that he was on the train back to Hogwarts, remembering that the Winter holiday was over.

He remembered the journey to the platform, where various Order members wished them a safe journey, yet he remembered that one person wasn't present. Fleur and her family were noticeably absent from the platform, causing to wonder if she was avoiding him.

The last time the pair saw each other was when the two had fought, and neither word nor letter was exchanged between them. He knew that they needed to resolve the conflict between them, he was still angry, but more importantly, he was still hurt. He had hoped that with all the time he spent with his girlfriend, that she would understand his reasoning behind keeping the prophecy a secret, or that she would at least accept it as Ron and Hermione had, but alas, that wasn't the case. Now he couldn't help but worry that their spat had made her choose to not return to Hogwarts.

He looked at the other occupants of the compartment, and saw that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny weren't woken up by outcry. He remembered the first night after Fleur had left was when the visions had started, waking up all the occupants of Grimmauld Place. He had told them that it was nothing, which might've been believable if the nightmares hadn't continued to come not only every night, but every time Harry tried to sleep. They were thankfully getting less frequent, but had yet to stop completely, leaving him a tired wreck.

Deciding that trying to go back to sleep was futile and that he needed fresh air, Harry exited the compartment as quietly as possible and started to walk along the rows of compartments, absent mindedly. He was met by the stairs of various people. Though there were some sympathetic faces from DA members and other who had heard about the attack at the Burrow, many of the faces were of distrust after the increased werewolf attacks. He couldn't be bothered to care about the hate filled stares he was getting, he was used to people's opinions of him flip-flopping frequently where he was concerned.

After a few minutes of wandering, he happened upon a compartment that at first glance didn't seem too abnormal, until one were to take a closer look at the occupants of said compartment. Seeing Neville and Luna sitting together wasn't too stranger of a sight to see, Harry had noticed that the two of them had been getting closer over the course of the year, even though there was no evidence to suggest that they were actually an item. No, it was the sight of a visibly distraught Lavender Brown sitting with them, her back facing away from the door that had peaked his interest.

Deciding to see what was wrong, he opened the sliding door, and his senses were assaulted by multiple stimuli. First, he was now able to discern that there was a single rapid heartbeat in the room, and judging by how Neville was acting slightly fidgety, it was most likely from him. More startling perhaps, was the fact that one of the scents was that of a werewolf. It didn't take much guess to figure out where that scent came from.

He had read about the other werewolf attacks that occurred on the night of the attack at the Burrow, but at the time, he didn't think anything of it when he saw that the Brown family had been attacked that night as well. He had read that there were no casualties, but that one of the owners' daughters had been bitten that night, while everyone else had managed to get out of it unscathed. Realization dawned on him, that that must've been Lavender's family and that she was the one who got bitten.

At the sound of the door opening, Lavender whipped her head around, a truly haunted look in her eyes that could only be described as lost, absolutely lost. Feeling a rush of sympathy for her, Harry entered the compartment and shut the door behind him. Inside, it seemed that whatever conversation had been going on prior to his entrance had stopped dead in its tracks.

"Hello Harry," began Luna jovially, her cheerful demeanor in complete contrast to the rest of the compartment, "what brings you here?"

"I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind, and I saw you guys sitting here and-"

"You don't have to lie to us Harry," piped up Lavender suddenly, a surprising amount of contempt bleeding through her words, "I know that you're here because of me. I can smell the pity on you."

Harry was caught off-guard by how resentful she sounded there, but quickly tried to regain himself. He couldn't find it in himself to be upset with her. Not when he completely understood where she was coming from. He knew what it was like to feel like a monster.

"Come on Lavender, Harry just wants to help."

"I don't care!"

Harry put a hand on Lavender's shoulder, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. "Listen Lavender, I know what you're going through."

"No, you don't! Everyone looks at me like some kind of freak!"

It only took a moment or two for the Lavender to realize what had just come out of her mouth. Her eyes immediately began to water, as she realized that she was yelling at potentially the only person in Hogwarts who could understand what she was going through.

"Oh Merlin! I'm sorry Harry. I had no right to say such things. This has only just happened to me, while you've dealt with it for so long, and-"

Harry placed both hands on her shoulders to stop her rambling, "It's okay Lavender, I understand what you're going through." She finally lifted her head to look him in the eyes again, and he was once again stunned at the hopeless look in her eyes. "After…well everything, I started pushing people away too. I thought that everyone would abandon me and that my life was over. But you know what?" He paused to look over at Neville and Luna, who had shifted closer together while he was consoling Lavender, "I found that there were still people who cared about me. You still have those people Lavender, even if you're having trouble finding them. Anyone who doesn't see the same girl that has been at Hogwarts for the past 5 years, they aren't worth your thoughts. Prove to them that you're more than what they think of you."

For the first time since he had joined them in their compartment, Lavender eyes lit up incrementally, showing him a small watery smile that proved that his words had worked at some level.

"Thank you, Harry, that means a lot," she paused momentarily, fear returning to her features, "I'm just scared of what's going to happen after...well."

"Don't worry you won't have to go through the moon alone. If you want, I can help you out until you feel more comfortable."

Her smile returned at his promise, before she squared her shoulders up, reached into her nearby bag, and pulled out some make-up and began doing her face. Harry smiled at her actions, thankful that he had managed to get through to her.

"So how was your break Luna?"

"It was fine. Dad went off to find some more creatures for his next issue of _The Quibbler_ , and I went by Neville's home a few times. It was a lot of fun, especially when he took me out by his garden and he-"

"Shhh!"

Neville attempts at silencing Luna were successful, but got Harry's attention. Looking at the two, he started to wonder why the two were sitting so close together, until he noticed that hidden in the little space between them, he could see that his two friends' hands were intertwined. Not needing any more clarification on what was going on, figuring that they would tell everyone when they were ready. It was Neville who decided to try and get the conversation going again.

"Not much else happened besides that. Once we got on the train, I saw Lavender looking sad, and having heard about what happened through the Daily Prophet, I asked her if she wanted to sit with us."

Lavender smiled at the pair, before the conversation turned less serious as they continued on their way back to school. Their happy journey went on for some time until they were interrupted by Malfoy and his two goons.

"I'm surprised you two were able to show your faces after all the commotion involving _you people_ over the holiday. "Harry had little patience for Malfoy's cheek today.

"Shove off Malfoy."

"I'd stay away from him if I were you," Malfoy turning his attention to Luna and Neville, even though it was apparent that he would like nothing better than to ignore them, "people tend to get hurt around Potter."

Harry jumped off of the bench he was sitting on, and got directly in Malfoy's face. The Slytherin recoiled, but quickly righted himself and gave a cocky grin towards his adversary.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Potter, I would hate to be responsible for _another_ person's death if I were you." Without another word further, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle continued up the corridor in the direction that they had come from.

When he finally sat back down, Harry stayed quiet for some time before he rejoined the conversation. For a while, he mulled over the words that Malfoy had said, and the more he thought about it the more he convinced himself and the more it made sense.

Harry was positive that Malfoy had something to do with the attack at the Burrow.

-HP-

After nearly all the students were sat in the Great Hall, Hermione looked across the table at the spot next to Harry that was usually reserved for Fleur, but found that the spot was still empty. She immediately became concerned not just for her French friend, but also for Harry as well. Once her and Ron had met up with Harry once the train docked at Hogsmeade, Harry had relayed his fear that Fleur's absence might've been because she was avoiding him, and had even expressed the thought that she may have transferred back to Beauxbatons because of this. Hermione severely doubted this but she was concerned nonetheless. Harry and Fleur had had a few fights since getting together, but none like this and she worried about the status of their relationship.

Movement from the front of the Great Hall caught her attention just in time to see Fleur herself entering the Great Hall. Following her gaze, Harry too looked in that direction and visibly stiffened at the sight of her, yet at the same time there was a hopeful quality to his eyes as Fleur stopped her walk when her eyes locked on Harry. Neither budged an inch for several seconds, before Fleur seemed to visibly gather herself and chose to sit with Angelina and Alicia, who both at least had the decency to look apologetically towards them.

Hermione focus returned to Harry and was met by his downcast expression. His eyes turned towards the table and he seemed to collapse within himself. Knowing her best friend as well as she did, she knew that Harry felt bad for making Fleur feel like he didn't trust her and it was apparent that it was eating him up inside.

For the rest of the meal, Harry backed out of nearly all the back and forth banter of the classmates around them, barely replying to anything directed his way with more than a few words. He eventually stood up to leave long before most of the hall had decided to, slowing down his exit briefly when he approached Fleur but continued to appear downtrodden when she didn't acknowledge his presence. Only after he was several feet away did Hermione see the girl's head turn towards the direction of her boyfriend, before she refocused on the conversation she was in, albeit with a brief look of sadness in her eyes, before they hardened again as if remembering that she was supposed to be mad at him.

Deciding that enough was enough, Hermione decided that she needed to have a talk with Fleur before the night was done. Deciding that the best time to do that would be when everyone was on their way back to their dormitories, Hermione waited until Fleur left the Great Hall and followed her to a spot where they could talk in private.

She intercepted the French witch in the Third-floor corridor and pulled her into the first doorway that the pair had come across. Once it was shut behind them and Hermione could glance around the room that they occupied, she realized where exactly they were.

Fleur opened her mouth to hotly ask why Hermione had dragged her into this room, but Hermione cut her off before she could get a word in edgewise.

"Do you know where we are Fleur?"

This stumped Fleur as she too gazed around the room, finding it bare except for a trapdoor near the center of the room.

"This was where Hagrid's dog Fluffy guarded that trapdoor", she indicated towards the door in question, "Which protected the Sorcerer's Stone." Fleur's eyes widened as she finally realized what room the significance of this room. "Finding this room was the first time that things got difficult for him at Hogwarts, but not the first time things got difficult." She now directed her pointed gaze towards Fleur, causing the older which to recoil as she knew where their talk was headed.

"Harry had his reasons for keeping the Prophecy from us," her voice turned cold, nearly making Fleur shiver from how frigid her tone was.

"How can you be okay with him keeping something so important from you?" This nearly came out rushed, wanting to get her thought across before Hermione had the opportunity to roll through her argument.

"Though Ron and I don't like the fact that he kept it from us, we understand why he did it. He wanted to try and spare us from his burden."

"But don't we have the right to know. You two are his best friends, I'm his girlfriend. Why didn't he trust us?"

Hermione barked out a humorless laugh. "You really have no idea, do you?" Her eyes searched Fleur's for any sign of falsehood. "You know about Harry's Aunt and Uncle, right? Well, what you haven't heard, is much worse."

Hermione began to recount everything that she had put together about Harry's home life that she could gather from what Harry's said, to what the Weasley's had seen the few times they saw him at home, to what she figured out for herself just from watching Harry. She felt a sickly kind of satisfaction when Fleur's expression transitioned through various phases of shock and disgust.

"What they've done to him…no one should ever have to go through that." Unbidden tears formed in her eyes as she thought about what her best friend had gone through.

"I had no idea…why didn't he tell anyone?"

"For the same reason that he didn't tell us about the prophecy, those…people," the venom was practically dripping from her voice at the words, "made him believe that he had to rely on himself and that he wasn't worth it. They made him believe that he couldn't trust anybody and," she paused momentarily as realization dawned on her. Her and Ron had reaffirmed his belief that he couldn't trust anyone when they kept him in the dark over the summer. She hated herself for treating Harry no better than everyone else in his life, and she promised to herself to make it up to him. She would take care of that later, right now, she needed to stop this foolishness between Harry and Fleur.

Hermione felt a ave of satisfaction when she saw the look in Fleur's eyes. Her eyes watered as the truth behind Hermione's words, but the words left her.

"For a long time, I refused to accept that things would change after he was bitten. I understand that now. Especially, when I realized that he didn't want to be a monster, like them."

Hermione could see the understanding form behind Fleur's eyes. He didn't want to be anything like his "family", and he didn't want to hurt anyone just like they had hurt him. Instead of responding, Fleur walked from the room to try and process what she just learned. Hermione let her pass through the door and could only hope that Fleur finally understood.

 _ **AN :So we finally have the confrontation between Fleur and Hermione. A couple of people had messaged me and asked in reviews if this scene was going to happen so here it is. This moment has huge implications for all their character's relationships. I also edited this chapter further after someone pointed out in a review that Ron and Hermione had done the same thing to Harry that Fleur had done.**_

 _ **I also added the bit with Lavender in so that Harry has someone his age who could understand what he's going through. Not only that but I'm trying to work it so that she becomes a little more important later on.**_

 _ **The last bit of news is that updates might get a little weird from here on out. I hope to still update every 2 weeks might it fall to 3 depending on how demanding school gets.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	35. Truth in Omission

Chapter 35 – Truth in Omission

Harry exited the carriage into the brisk February cold. He couldn't for the life of him, fathom as why someone thought that a Hogsmeade trip now, during the dead of winter would be an excellent idea. Though, the more he thought about it, he guessed it did make some sense, given what the date was a few days ago.

Every year, Hogwarts set up a Hogsmeade weekend right around Valentine's Day, the perfect opportunity for the many couples that roamed the halls to celebrate their relationship together away from the old castle. Valentines were exchanged throughout Breakfast, the halls of the castle and the streets of Hogsmeade were all decorated for the holiday, and it seemed that Madam Puddifoot's shop got a large amount of extra business due to the holiday.

Despite the cheery mood that the rest of the castle seemed to be in, Harry couldn't help but feel a little somber on this day. All it did was remind him of the continued rift that existed between himself and his girlfriend. Though, him and Fleur had kissed and made up, quite literally in fact, he couldn't help but feel that something was still off in their relationship.

She seemed happy and cheerful enough when she knew that he was around, but a few times either when she didn't realize he was near or when she didn't realize that he noticed, he saw her looking at him or staring off with a reflective look on her face. Reflective was one way to describe it, but Harry felt that there was maybe something else to it, determination, remorse? Was she still upset over what had happened? Either way, to the untrained eye, their relationship looked as fine as ever but it was obvious to him and he felt that she noticed too, that there was still some tension in their relationship.

Deciding to try and fight past their recent awkwardness, Harry asked Fleur if she wanted to have lunch at the Three Broomsticks with him, which she happily nodded yes to, but Harry noticed that her face returned to its previous state right afterwards. He hoped that their date today would help their relationship get back to how it used to be.

Once both of his feet were back on solid ground, he looked to his left and saw Ron and Hermione exit from the other side of the carriage, their own date planned for today as well. They all stopped for a moment, nothing was said as the companionable silence from the carriage ride continued, though a bit more awkward now. Now that his best friends were about to head to Madam Puddifoot's for their date, the absence of Harry's own date became more conspicuous.

Fleur had some extra studying to do for some of her exams that were coming up, at least that's what she claimed. Harry had a feeling that she was simply coming up with an excuse, which only exemplified their recent troubles more.

He got a wave from an oblivious Ron and a sad smile from Hermione, before the pair of them left him to his own devices. Deciding that he would rather not just wander around the village by himself, he decided to go to the Three Broomsticks and wait until Fleur showed up.

If Hermione could say that she was honestly enjoying her and Ron's date she would, but even though it was only partially true. The date itself was fine, after having a lovely lunch at Madam Puddifoot's, they went to the book store in town where Hermione got a few books, before walking around the village a bit before they were supposed to meet Harry and Fleur at the Three Broomsticks.

But Hermione couldn't help but feel that some things were off about the whole day. She felt that the atmosphere in Puddifoot's left a little to be desired. The whole place was decorated garishly and the place was filled with kissing couples. It was almost painfully obvious that this was Ron's intention, get her around so many couples openly displaying their affection so that either of them would hopefully drum up the courage to take that leap forward. The only issue was that Hermione didn't feel the need to flaunt her and Ron's relationship for everyone to see, but truthfully, she wasn't comfortable with such a brazen display, but it also seemed that Ron couldn't talk himself up to it either, making the whole deal incredibly awkward despite everything else.

The book store was also nice enough but it was walking around before and after that that was awkward. On the way there, Ron voice his confusion in why she would choose to use their time away from the school to buy new books and made it painfully clear that this wasn't his first choice for a place for their date. She tried telling him that their O.W.L. year was one of the most important years they'd have but also tried to explain that there was more to reading beyond studying for exams, though the concept seemed to go over his head.

Afterwards during their walk, they fell back into silence, though long gone was the companionable silence of the carriage ride from the school, forcing Hermione to wonder if this was how their relationship would always be. Hermione was well aware of the philosophical differences between the two of them before they entered their relationship, but she had hoped that they would overcome them. It was true that they were more civil now than they were before, but they still had disagreements from time to time, and when they did, she could tell that Ron was holding back from what he really wanted to say. Not that she was any better, most of the time she had to forcibly calm herself to keep from either storming off or lashing out in anger.

As they were about to enter the establishment, Ron grabbed ahold of her arm and directed her away from the entrance, a serious expression on his face. Hermione was perplexed by this but allowed him to direct her, despite some worry nagging at the back of her mind. The day had gone reasonably well, but she couldn't fight back the feeling that Ron had noticed the awkwardness as well, causing a dozen different scenarios tor ace through her mind, from him confronting her about it to calling off their relationship.

It turned out, her fears were unfounded.

"Before we go in there, I just wanted to let you know that I've had a great time today."

The authenticity of Ron's statement forced an embarrassed smile onto her face. She considered his eyes to try and see if any trace of the doubt that she had was reflected in his blue eyes but found none. Maybe she was analyzing the day too much, they were ins till in the early stages of their relationship after all.

"I had a great time too," came her reply, as she tried to keep the hesitation out of her voice. She continued to stare at him as Ron raised a hand and placed it on her cheek before he began to lean in closer. Sensing what was happening, Hermione found the courage to reciprocate the motion until their lips met.

The first thought that crossed her mind was that it was nice. She wracked her brain for a better word to describe it, but if she was honest, nice was all she could say about it. There was no fireworks, no fire burning inside her, or any other clichés that she had heard about, it simply…was. Still, they held it for another moment before they parted.

She opened her eyes and saw that Ron had yet to open his own, his faced scrunched up in confusion for a second before he too opened his eyes. Looking at him, she tried to give him a reassuring smile, though she was sure that her own confusion was present on her face, as he gave her own in return, though she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't noticed before.

Before the moment got any more awkward, she grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him into the Three Broomsticks. She scanned the tables looking for the third member of the trio, and found him sitting with Fleur towards the back of the room. Both looked a little glum before they noticed Her approached and put on a brave face, worrying her slightly. What happened between them while they were gone?

Fleur entered the diner and combed the crowd for her boyfriend. When she found him, he was sitting off on the outskirts of the room, obviously trying to keep the attention away from him, sitting there alone, without his girlfriend.

She felt bad about showing up late. It was true that she needed extra study time for her N.E.W.T.s, she hadn't lied about that. However, that wasn't the whole reason that she decided to postpone their date. In truth, she was about to drop a bombshell on their relationship, and she only hoped that Harry would understand. She was able to approach the table without Harry even noticing she was there. Obviously, recent events have been plaguing his mind as it had been her.

"'Arry?"

"Fleur!" He jumped at the sound of his name being called, the startled look on his face was so endearing, that she nearly doubted the decision that she had made in the last few days.

She sat down, and the awkwardness that had been a staple in their relationship as of late took over. The silence was over powering, which somehow managed to cut through all the noise of the groups that surrounded them. It was Fleur who decided to cut through the tension first.

"What did Dumbledore want wiz you a few nights ago?"

Harry was at first startled by the question but quickly recovered. "He asked me to come with him to retrieve some information on 'you know what'," he leaned forward and whispered that part, and Fleur caught on to what he was talking about; Dumbledore was looking for Horcruxes.

"What were you looking for?"

"Well you know how in addition to the dueling training with him and the training with Remus, Dumbledore was showing me memories right?" At the nod of her head he continued, "Well, he believed that one of the ones he had was tampered with, so we went to the source. He said the man's name was Slughorn and he used to teach Potions at Hogwarts."

"Did 'e give you ze real memory?"

"He resisted at first, claiming that the memory contained all he knew. That's when Dumbledore introduced me. Slughorn went on about how he knew my parents and how he would love to get to know me. I told him that if he was truly sorry about my parent's death, he would help us win this fight. He still fought for a bit but eventually us gave us what we were looking for."

"And?" She was dying to know if there were any more pieces of Voldemort's soul lying around.

"Voldemort wanted to spit his soul into 7 pieces. There's the diary, the locket, the diadem, plus the piece that he still has, meaning that there are still three more out there. Dumbledore says he wants me to go with him once he finds another one."

"Seven pieces. 'Ow can someone do such a zing?" Harry shrugged, he couldn't comprehend it either. Still, it was a step forward knowing how many Horcruxes were left, albeit a small one.

When the conversation ended, they returned to the silence. It started to get to Fleur that their once easy and care-free relationship had taken such a hit that, she started to get jittery until she couldn't take it anymore.

"'Arry…" her voice was so soft that she worried that he wouldn't have heard her, but it appears that her tone of voice that what she was saying was important.

"I want to say I'm sorry again for 'ow I acted during the 'olidays, I shouldn't 'ave reacted zat way."

"It wasn't your fault Fleur. I wasn't open about things. You just didn't know."

"That's the point 'Arry. I didn't know. Zere's so much zat I don't know about you and you about me."

"I don't understand."

Fleur stood up and moved to sit right next to Harry, clasping his hands within her own. "We got togezzer so quickly after being friends, zat we barely had time to truly get to know each ozzer."

"What are you trying to say Fleur?" The look of horror on his face as he probably realized where this conversation almost convinced her to not go further with it, but she knew that she needed to stay strong.

"I zink we need to try and be friends before we try to a couple again."

Harry's head dropped in defeat as the reality of the situation finally crashed into him. "So we're breaking up?"

"Non, just take a break from being in a relationship. That way we can truly get to know on anozzer before possibly trying zis again. You 'ave to admit, the last few weeks 'ave been 'ard, non?"

Harry sighed as he couldn't find any fault in what she was saying. "I guess you're right, we have been distant lately." He looked at her, the sadness still present in his eyes, yet it seemed to have dulled a little, but in a way that made him appear even more vulnerable. "This is all so sudden Fleur. I need time to process this. You can't expect me to do this immediately after calling it off, can you?" Though, she was disappointed by this, she really couldn't blame him. She had been more distant in the list week than she had been since they returned to school and then to spring this on him suddenly must come as a shock.

She retook her seat across the table from Harry, but still maintained the connection of their hands. He gave her a small smile, which she readily returned, hoping to make him feel that every would work out in the end.

Before any further conversation could be started, she noticed that Ron and Hermione had entered the Three Broomsticks and were looking for them. It seemed that Harry noticed too, straightening himself to appear as if everything was as it had been, though Fleur could tell it was a little forced. She dreaded having to tell Ron and Hermione about their break up, but knew that Harry wouldn't allow for them to abandon her. As the pair made their way over to the table, Fleur chanced another glance at Harry, and couldn't help but hope that everything worked out in the end and that her decision wasn't another big mistake on her part.

 _ **AN: So it's been a while since my last update but I hope this chapter will suffice. I added the bit about Slughorn simply because I felt it needed to happen but I didn't want to dedicate a portion of the chapter to it and have it feel out of place with the rest of it.**_

 _ **Some people might not like how I ended Harry and Fleur's relationship, but this was another of the earliest plot points I came up with for this story. I'm finding myself, not wanting to make extremely long stories anymore so I'm a little out of my element now. I know that this story isn't the best but it's my first story so I'm dedicated to finishing it, despite any of its shortcomings.**_

 _ **Lastly, we're approaching the home stretch of this story. We're going to moving a bit faster forward so that I can finish this story, within the next 10 – 15 chapters. Hope that you guys still enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.**_

 _ **As always, thanks for reading!**_


	36. Important Update

Important Update

Sorry for anyone who expected this to be another chapter for the story but I have an important announcement to make.

I've regrettably decided to put this story on hiatus for the time being. I do plan on finishing this story eventually but there are a number of factors that have gone into this decision.

As my college semester has gone on, my course workload has increased meaning I have significantly less time that I can dedicate to my writings, as many of you have probably seen due to my less frequent updates.

Since it's nearing the 2-year anniversary of this story, I've found that the story I had originally imagined and where I have gone are slightly different, meaning that I need to reorganize and rewrite the later chapters. I've also decided to try and end the story a little quicker and use some of my planned plot points for other stories.

Recently. I've found myself wanting to write for my current stories and many new story ideas, but since I feel the need to try and focus on this story, I keep convincing myself to put those ideas on the backburner. Hopefully, by taking a break here, I can try and do those stories some justice.

Again, I apologize, if anyone was looking for an update, but I think this is for the best. I'm not abandoning this story and I hope to get back to it once my creative juices start flowing and I put a dent in some of my other story ideas. I appreciate all the support and criticism that I've gotten for this story and hope continue it in a way that people can enjoy.

As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
